Local News in Brief : Oceanside

The final defendant in the Carlo Troiani murder case said he would rather stand trial on charges of first-degree murder with special circumstances than accept the same plea bargain as his four fellow former Marines who were co-defendants in the celebrated case.

Kevin Watkins, 21, said he will plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter for his role in the August, 1984, murder of Troiani, but Deputy Dist. Atty. Phil Walden said such a plea is unacceptable.

Four other co-defendants in the case have pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. Mark Schulz, the admitted triggerman, was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole. Russell Harrison, Jeff Mizner and Russell Sanders are expected to be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison after the district attorney’s office agreed to drop the charge of special circumstances.

If proven, the special circumstances would have made the death penalty possible.

Walden said he would not accept a lesser plea from Watkins, who he said is equally culpable for his role in the murder conspiracy because he allegedly helped plan it and participated in two foiled attempts to kill Troiani.

A voluntary manslaughter plea carries a six-year prison term--and with credit for time already served and for good behavior, Watkins would be eligible almost immediately for release from the County Jail in Vista, where he is being held without bail.

Watkins is scheduled to stand trial Feb. 8.

Laura Troiani--the only person to stand trial so far for the murder of her husband--was found guilty last year of first-degree murder, with special circumstances of lying in wait and murder for financial gain, which qualified her for the death penalty. But the jury sentenced her to life in prison without possibility of parole.