4 to Stand Trial in Murder of Policeman

Four men were ordered Wednesday to stand trial in the killing of off-duty Los Angeles Police Detective Thomas C. Williams hours after he had testified last October in the armed robbery trial of one of the four defendants.

After a monthlong preliminary hearing, Los Angeles Municipal Judge Brian D. Crahan ordered Daniel S. Jenkins, 30, who allegedly planned the slaying; Duane Moody, 28; Ruben A. (Tony) Moss, 24, and Voltaire Williams, 23, to be tried for murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

Jenkins, who was convicted in the armed robbery case, also was held for trial by Crahan for the attempted murder last July of the armed robbery victim, George Carpenter, who managed a North Hollywood theater.

Arraignment for the four Los Angeles men, who could each face the death penalty if convicted, was scheduled for May 8 in Van Nuys Superior Court.

“We have plain and simple murder; we have plain and simple murder with premeditation; we have plain and simple murder of a police officer as a result of his acting in his official capacity,” Crahan said. “ . . . What we don’t have is evidence of the specific shooter.”

Williams, 42, was hit seven times by machine pistol fire in an ambush outside a Canoga Park church school last Halloween evening as he picked up his 6-year-old son from school. The boy escaped injury.

Earlier in the day, Williams had testified against Jenkins, who owned the Sir Dan’s Limousine Service, on charges of robbery and assault in the October, 1984, holdup of Carpenter. Carpenter, who survived a July, 1985, shooting in a North Hollywood bar for which Jenkins is now charged, also testified at Jenkins’ robbery trial.

The prosecution presented evidence on the alleged murder weapon and car used in the ambush--both recovered as a result of information obtained from defendant Moody shortly after his arrest.

The semiautomatic MAC-10 allegedly used in the attack was located at the home of defendant Moody’s friend, musician Ali Woodson, a singer in The Temptations music group. Woodson testified that Moody dropped off a bag at his Inglewood apartment Halloween night. The musician did not look into the bag, he said, until several days later.

A stolen Oldsmobile allegedly used in the ambush was found with nine spent casings inside it, according to police testimony.

According to prosecution witnesses, at least two previous attempts were made to kill Williams on Jenkins’ behalf in the weeks before his murder.

Witness Says He Backed Out

A friend of defendant Voltaire Williams, Alexander Xavier Hunter, 22, testified that he agreed to kill Williams but could not go through with it after watching the officer walking from the Faith Baptist Church school with his young son.

Williams, he said, had told him that he could earn $10,000 for killing a “security guard” who was going to testify against Jenkins. Neither Williams nor Jenkins told him the intended victim of the aborted Oct. 25 ambush was a police officer, he added.

An earlier unsuccessful attack occurred Oct. 16, according to testimony from Tyrone Hicks, who was granted immunity by the prosecution.

Hicks said defendant Moss picked him up in a black-and-gold limousine and took him to Jenkins’ house that day. After meeting with Jenkins, Hicks said, the pair proceeded with a third man to the school. But Williams picked up his son and left before Moss could strike, Hicks said.

Credibility Questioned

Defense attorneys, for their part, sought to question the credibility and motivation of some witnesses, including Michael Canale, a one-time American Nazi Party member, drug addict and burglar.

Canale testified that Moody talked about murdering Williams days before the killing occurred--an allegation that Moody’s former lawyer, Douglas Young, who was allegedly present during the discussion, denied in court.

The defense also emphasized that several witnesses near the murder scene identified the assailants as Latino. All four are black.