Inmate Linked to Murder for Leniency Is Suspected in Earlier, Similar Crime

A jail inmate who is suspected of directing the April 18 kidnap and murder of a Hollywood man from behind bars also is under investigation in connection with an attempted murder two days earlier in Riverside County, authorities said.

Michael Birman, 30, a Riverside County inmate who is suspected of plotting the Los Angeles-area killing so he could provide information about the crime to authorities in exchange for favorable treatment, is believed to have attempted a similar crime in Riverside County, Riverside County Deputy Dist. Atty. Paul E. Zellerbach said.

Riverside County sheriff’s deputies are investigating the April 16 shooting of a Riverside County man that has similarities to the killing of Catarino Reyes, 43, two days later, Zellerbach said. Birman has not been charged in either crime.

“Birman was in custody, but he may be the common link between the two crimes,” Zellerbach said.

Reyes, a baker, was abducted from a street in Hollywood and fatally shot. His body was found in Topanga Canyon off a hilltop road overlooking the San Fernando Valley.

Calls With Information

Two hours after investigators left the crime scene, Birman called the Malibu sheriff’s station from jail with information about the slaying, including Reyes’ name, where his body was found and the fact that Reyes had been shot once with a .38-caliber pistol, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Donn Brooks said.

Charged in the Reyes killing are Birman’s stepson, Robert Meyer, 31; Lawrence Hawkins, 30, and Andrew Fox, 25, all of Riverside. They were arrested April 21 after leaving a Marina Del Rey restaurant, purportedly without paying their bill.

Sheriff’s deputies later found a gun believed to have been used to shoot Reyes in the home of Birman’s wife in the Northern California city of Woodland. The woman, Charis Birman, also is under investigation, authorities said.

Arraignment Postponed

The three men on Friday agreed to postpone their arraignment on murder, kidnaping and robbery charges until May 26, Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Pamela A. Ferrero said.

Zellerbach would not elaborate on the Riverside County investigation, but he said charges of attempted murder may be filed against one or more suspects in the case next week.

The victim, whose name and hometown is being withheld, has recovered sufficiently from his wounds to identify the person or persons who shot him, Zellerbach said.

Birman, a Palm Springs resident who was arrested there April 15 and charged with possession of cocaine for sale, also faces sentencing on two counts of robbery stemming from the November, 1983, robberies of homes in Canoga Park and Reseda, Van Nuys Superior Court records show. Birman pleaded guilty to the crimes in January, 1985, but he failed to appear for sentencing.

In 1982, a jury found Birman guilty of soliciting an undercover Los Angeles police officer and another man for an armed robbery of a doctor’s office. Birman served 16 months of a three-year prison sentence in that case and was paroled in June, 1983.