Accomplice in Murder Case Will Go Free if He Testifies

Kenneth Solomon, the accused getaway driver in the 1982 Hancock Park slaying of Princeton University basketball player Lawrence Raphael, has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder--but he will be allowed to go free if he testifies truthfully in the pending trial of alleged triggerman Ozell (Junebug) Johnson.

The unusual plea bargain was accepted late Thursday night, Deputy Dist. Atty. Stephen M. Barshop said, because Solomon, 29, is “a critical witness in the case” against Johnson.

“It’s really just not right if we try this guy . . . (and he) gets a 25-to-life sentence and (we) have the shooter walk out the door,” Barshop said.

Defense counsel Albert DeBlanc Jr., meanwhile, said Solomon “was doing what’s in his best interest . . . (or) in his words, he’s protecting his behind.”

Solomon and Johnson, both of South-Central Los Angeles, were arrested in February, 1984, and charged with killing Raphael during an aborted August, 1982, robbery attempt. The defendants--who were allegedly driving through the Hancock Park area looking for potential robbery victims--are accused of confronting Raphael, 19, and his girlfriend as they returned to the woman’s home after going out for ice cream.

While Solomon sat in the car, authorities charge, Johnson allegedly walked up to Raphael, who was sitting in his own car, and shot him in the head with a handgun before rummaging through his pockets.

Solomon agreed to the plea bargain before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Turner in the midst of his second trial, the first full-fledged felony case to be heard in the county’s new Night Court.

Solomon’s first trial ended in a mistrial last June when jurors could not break a deadlock over the authenticity of a taped confession Solomon allegedly made to police.

Solomon, a former Internal Revenue Service clerk, had testified that the voice on the tape played in court was not his. Since scientific voice print analysis is not admissible as evidence, Barshop was unable to produce an expert witness to testify on the tape’s authenticity.

This time, however, Barshop presented testimony by friends of Solomon who said they recognized the defendant’s voice on the tape. Late Thursday, Solomon acknowledged in court that he had made the confession and he agreed to the plea bargain.

Deal Sought for 1 1/2 Years

Although settlements are not unusual in cases in which one defendant has less culpability than the other, Barshop said, such bargains are normally struck before trials begin.

In Solomon’s case, Barshop said, the district attorney’s office had sought to make a deal for 1 1/2 years. During his current trial, Solomon apparently grew “scared” that the prosecution’s case was strong enough to result in a conviction, the prosecutor theorized.

Solomon’s plea bargain was backed by Raphael’s parents and girlfriend, who were in court Thursday night, DeBlanc said. Raphael, a former Fairfax High School basketball player, was attending Princeton University on a scholastic scholarship when he was slain.

After Johnson’s trial is completed later this year, Judge Turner will determine whether Solomon’s testimony has been truthful. If it is, under the settlement arrangement Solomon’s plea will be set aside and all charges dismissed.