Soviet Immigrant Given 15 Years in ’84 Desert Slaying

A 22-year-old Soviet immigrant who became part of a Hollywood street “family” accused of killing male prostitutes was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years to life in state prison for his role in the 1984 shotgun slaying of a man in the desert outside Los Angeles.

Oleg Pinsky was convicted Aug. 25 by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge William R. Pounders based on the transcript of a trial that ended in a mistrial when jurors were unable to reach a verdict on the first-degree murder count. The agreement called for Pounders to reduce the charge against Pinsky to second-degree murder and to allow sentences for two unrelated counts of armed robbery at a Hollywood motel to run concurrently with the murder term.

Pinsky, who arrived in the United States five years ago, was accused along with two other members of a so-called “mini-Manson family” of killing Carlos Pena after picking him up at a Hollywood bus stop. His co-defendants, Sonny Godfrey and Robert Harris Ormsbee, are also charged in the murder of two homosexual male prostitutes. They are to be tried separately.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Antonio Barreto, who prosecuted Pinsky, and defense attorney William K. Ringgold agreed that Pinsky, who was given credit for 3 1/2 years for time served and good behavior, is likely to be freed before he turns 30.