The Region - News from April 4, 1986

Convicted killer James Hawkins Jr. was ordered to stand trial in Los Angeles on May 19 for the execution-style slaying of two reputed narcotics dealers in 1984. Superior Court Judge Marsha N. Revel said Hawkins wished to be prosecuted for the double-murder before facing charges in Contra Costa County in connection with a Jan. 24 gunfight with a sheriff’s deputy. Hawkins, 41, who was sentenced to 28 years in prison for a 1983 shotgun slaying, had escaped from the downtown Criminal Courts Building last November and was captured during that gunfight. The pretrial hearing before Revel was held in a high-security courtroom.