Threat Against Witness in Slaying of 2 College Students Intercepted

A man granted immunity in the slayings of two students who were kidnaped in Westwood was threatened with harm before he testified at the recent preliminary hearing of his former co-defendants, prosecutors asserted in court Wednesday.

The threats were made against DeAndre Antwine Brown, 21, in a jail note intercepted by a deputy sheriff, Deputy Dist. Atty. Marcia Clark said at the Santa Monica Superior Court arraignment of defendants Stanley Bernard Davis, 23, Damon Layte Redmond, 19, and Donald Roy Bennett, 21.

Police arrested the South-Central Los Angeles men in October, within days of the discovery of the bodies of Michelle Ann Boyd, 18, a UCLA freshman, and Brian Harris, 20, a student at California State University, Northridge, in a field off Mulholland Drive in the Santa Monica Mountains.

At the preliminary hearing earlier this month, Brown, a former private security guard at Los Angeles International Airport who is currently under police protection, testified that the victims were abducted in Westwood on Sept. 30 when Davis and Redmond stole Harris’ car. They were shot later that night, Brown said Davis told him, because “he didn’t want no witnesses.”

Clark, introducing the hand-printed jail note, said it was intercepted as it was being passed between Redmond and Bennett on Nov. 25, eight days before the preliminary hearing was to begin. She added that it was unclear who was passing the note to whom, although a fingerprint of Redmond was found on it.

In a written declaration, the prosecutor said, “The contents of that note reveal that a conspiracy to prevent DeAndre Brown and Donald Bennett from testifying at the preliminary hearing was afoot. Reference is made to a ‘contract’ that would be called off if DeAndre Brown refused to testify.

“The clear implication is that threats of violence were made or attempted to be communicated to dissuade Brown and Bennett from giving testimony. . . .”

The word “contract” is contained in a line that reads, “And tell day-day (identified by prosecutors as Brown) if he don’t there is no contract.”

Order Requested

Addressing Superior Court Judge David N. Fitts, Clark said portions of the missive appear to have been scrawled by two different people. She requested the judge to order the three co-defendants to provide handwriting samples to help determine its authorship.

Fitts agreed to request the samples but added that he could not compel the defendants to comply. If they do not, however, the prosecution can eventually inform jurors about the lack of cooperation, the judge said.

Davis, Redmond and Bennett all pleaded not guilty at their arraignment Wednesday to double charges of murder, robbery and kidnaping and a single count of grand theft. They are scheduled to return to court Jan. 27 for setting of a trial date.

The three are charged with abducting the victims as Boyd was walking Miss Harris from her Westwood apartment to his car. Once they reached the grassy field, Brown testified, Redmond and Davis walked into the darkness with the pair and two shots were heard, according to police. The defendants had driven to Westwood from South-Central Los Angeles to steal a car for use in a planned robbery that was never carried out, authorities charge.