4 Sentenced to Maximum in Series of Crimes

Four men described by a prosecutor as “a quartet of miniature Idi Amins” were sentenced Friday in Van Nuys Superior Court on 57 felony charges stemming from a six-week crime rampage in the West San Fernando Valley in 1984.

Judge James A. Albracht, who imposed the maximum sentences allowed under the law, said the crimes demonstrated “callousness and cruelty of a nature seldom observed by this court.”

Different Teams

The sentences, which differed because the men teamed up into different combinations during the attacks, ranged from 12 years in prison to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

The four, armed with sawed-off shotguns, broke into homes in Encino, Woodland Hills and Tarzana and robbed the residents, according to testimony. Some of the victims were kidnaped and forced to withdraw money from automated teller machines.

In addition, one teen-age girl testified that she was repeatedly raped while her mother and brother were held hostage in another part of the house.

Two Life Terms

Coleman Ray Fields, 20, of Panorama City, who was convicted of 30 counts, received the lengthiest sentence: 75 years, 8 months, plus two life terms. Deputy Dist. Atty. Lea P. D’Agostino said the earliest Fields would be eligible for parole is in about 51 years.

Tony Burnette Shaw, 21, of North Hollywood, convicted of 11 counts, was sentenced to 63 years, 8 months. He will be eligible for parole in 31 years, D’Agostino said.

Troy Allen Smith, 21, of Panorama City, convicted of 11 charges, was sentenced to 19 years, 4 months, plus one life term. He will first be eligible for a parole hearing in about 16 years, D’Agostino said.

Benjamin Brewster, 21, of Arleta, who was found guilty of five counts, was sentenced to 12 years and will be eligible for parole in six.

D’Agostino called the men “mindless, conscienceless savages” and likened them to Amin, the former ruler of Uganda.

“It is unfortunate that the death penalty is not permitted for these crimes,” she told Albracht.