The Nation - News from Oct. 23, 1987

The star witness in the Howard Beach, N.Y., murder trial testified that he was part of a white gang that confronted three black men and chased one of them to his death. Robert Riley, 18, who is cooperating with prosecutors in exchange for leniency, said he and half a dozen other youths chased the three blacks in the Howard Beach section of Queens last Dec. 20, shouting racial slurs. Michael Griffith, 23, dashed onto the busy Belt Parkway and was struck by a car and killed. Scott Kern and Jon Lester, both 18, are charged with murder, and Jason Ladone, 16, and Michael Pirone, 17, are charged with manslaughter. Seven others are charged with lesser crimes.