Local News in Brief : Van Nuys Man Guilty of Murder, Kidnaping

A Van Nuys Superior Court jury Thursday convicted a 36-year-old Van Nuys man on one count of murder and one of kidnaping, but acquitted him on two other murder charges.

If Steven Zimmer had been found guilty of multiple murders, he could have been sentenced to death. Zimmer now faces a sentence of 26 years to life in prison, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Burton J. Schneirow.

The jury found Zimmer guilty of kidnaping and murdering Jon Cassanelli, 28, of North Hollywood, who was shot to death Jan. 15, 1984, off Kanan Dume Road in Agoura.

Zimmer was acquitted of the killings two days later of Virginia Rosenberg, 30, of North Hollywood, and Steve Migliore, 21, of Panorama City.

Witnesses testified during the 10-week trial that Zimmer was a drug dealer, and that the three victims were drug users with whom he had had disputes over drug deals.

Zimmer was tied to the Rosenberg and Migliore killings only through circumstantial evidence.

Testimony showed that the two guns used in the murders were found in a safe deposit box that Zimmer shared with co-defendant Timothy Hoban, who is being tried separately in the Cassanelli slaying.

A judge ruled earlier that there was insufficient evidence to tie Hoban to the other two murders, and murder charges against him in those cases were dropped. He will face trial in October on the charge of killing Cassanelli.

Judge Darlene Schempp scheduled sentencing of Zimmer for Nov. 13.