Prosecution Rests in Trial of 2 Charged in Canoga Park Police Slaying

In nearly four months of testimony from prosecution witnesses, Daniel S. Jenkins has been described as a scheming, vengeful man who relentlessly stalked a Los Angeles police detective, finally killing him in front of his 6-year-old son.

Thomas C. Williams, who worked in the Los Angeles Police Department’s North Hollywood division, was struck by eight bullets from an automatic weapon as he emerged from a Canoga Park church school on Halloween, 1985.

His son, Ryan, escaped injury. Williams died slumped against the door of his orange pickup truck. He was 42.

After calling more than 70 witnesses, the prosecution rested its case Thursday in the trial of Jenkins, 32, and Ruben A. (Tony) Moss, 26, both charged in Williams’ murder.

They could receive the death penalty if they are convicted. Defense attorneys will begin presenting their case on Monday, and the trial, before Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Judith M. Ashmann, is expected to last another two months.

The most compelling testimony so far has come from six men, four of whom authorities said were involved in the conspiracy to murder Williams, but who were granted immunity from prosecution for their testimony.

Witnesses have described Jenkins as the ringleader of the conspiracy--a man who would take his own life or the lives of others to stay out of prison. They have portrayed Moss as Jenkins’ right-hand man.

Witnesses said that Jenkins wanted Williams dead so the detective would be unable to testify against him at a trial for the October, 1984, robbery of theater manager George Carpenter.

But earlier attempts to have Williams killed were unsuccessful, and on Oct. 31, 1985, the detective testified against Jenkins in San Fernando Superior Court. Jenkins killed Williams hours later in retaliation, according to witnesses in the case.

“He said, ‘I got that ass. I had to take care of it myself,’ ” testified David Bentley, 35, a long-time friend of Jenkins who was initially charged with conspiracy to commit murder for his part in the slaying. The charges against him were dropped in exchange for his testimony.

Three other witnesses--Jeffrey Bryant, Tyrone Hicks and Aladron Xavier Hunter--said they were offered as much as $10,000 to participate in the slaying.

Hunter testified that when he saw Williams leave the Faith Baptist Church school with his son on Oct. 25, 1985, “I just sat there. I was scared and I couldn’t do it.”

Bryant, an admitted robber, testified that he, too, agreed to do the shooting, but later changed his mind after learning that Williams was a police detective and not a security guard, as he had been told.

And Hicks testified that he was hired to drive the car from which the shots were to be fired on Oct. 30, but Moss called off the job because Williams’ truck was approaching from an unexpected direction.

Gruesome Details

In one of the trial’s most dramatic moments, Arvie Carroll, a convicted burglar, robber and murderer, testified that Jenkins told him, in gruesome detail, the way in which he killed Williams--the way “the detective’s body was convulsing with the impact of each bullet.”

Carroll testified that Jenkins said he shot Williams several times, then sped away at 60 to 80 m.p.h. in a car, went to a K mart store and talked with a salesclerk to establish an alibi.

Although Jenkins and Moss are being tried together, they are being judged by separate juries, in part because Jenkins also is charged with attempted murder for a July, 1985, attack on Carpenter.

Jenkins’ defense will begin on Monday and his attorney, Howard R. Price, said he plans to call between 75 and 125 witnesses. Jenkins may be among them, Price said.

Much of Price’s effort has focused on undermining the credibility of the prosecution’s key witnesses, whom he has tried to portray as simple-minded crooks who would not hesitate to lie if it would keep them out of jail.

In one attempt, Price pointed out that Bryant, who said during the trial that he agreed to kill Williams, had testified on another occasion that he refused to participate in the killing. Bryant said he had forgotten what he had said earlier.

“There are so many questions y’all asked,” Bryant said of attorneys in the case. “I can’t remember everything.”

Started to Cough

At another point in the trial, Price began to cough when Bentley testified, “It’s hard for me to get on the witness stand and lie.” Price later asked Bentley if he managed to stay awake during his preliminary hearing in 1986 when he faced charges of conspiracy to commit murder.

On Thursday, after the prosecution rested its case, Price said, “It is clear that Danny Jenkins did not pull the trigger. There is more than a reasonable doubt. The people’s theory is entirely based on speculation and circumstantial evidence. There is not on stitch of direct evidence. . . .”

The only thing that connects Jenkins to the crime are “four immunized witnesses corroborated only on trivial things,” the attorney said.

There were no witnesses to the shooting. Initial reports from people who saw a car fleeing the scene indicated that the driver either was white or Hispanic. Detectives said at the time that they thought the killer may have used makeup to lighten his complexion. Jenkins and Moss both are black.

Moss’ attorney, Michael V. White, is scheduled to begin presenting his defense on June 20. He declined to discuss what his strategy will be.

In addition to Jenkins and Moss, three other men--Duane Moody, 30, Voltaire Williams, 25, and Reecy Cooper, 33--are charged in Williams’ killing. Their trial will begin when the present proceedings conclude.