Defendant Dropped From ‘Rock House’ Murder Case

A San Fernando Municipal Court judge on Tuesday dismissed charges against a man accused along with 10 others in the killings of four people at a Lake View Terrace “rock house.”

The judge also ordered that another defendant, charged as an accessory to the crime, be released on his own recognizance pending a preliminary hearing in the case scheduled Nov. 21.

The charges were dropped against Levie Slack III, 24, accused in the Aug. 28 slayings of Andre Louis Armstrong, 31, and James Brown, 43, both of Pacoima; Lorretha Anderson English, 24, of Seaside, and her 28-month-old daughter, Chemise.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron L. Jenkins recommended that the charges be dropped, saying evidence against Slack proved inconclusive. The charges had hinged on blood samples taken from a pair of tennis shoes. Laboratory analysis determined that the samples were not human blood, Jenkins said.

Judge Malcolm Mackey dismissed the charges. He also ruled that Antonio Johnson, 28, of Lake View Terrace, be released until the preliminary hearing.

Mackey said the law required Johnson’s release because the preliminary hearing is scheduled beyond the 10 days allowed by law in non-capital cases. A defendant who is not charged with a capital offense may agree to the postponement by waiving his right to a speedy hearing, but Johnson chose not to, said Lawrence S. Rosenberg, his attorney.

Prosecutors said that as many as a dozen people associated with a San Fernando Valley drug-sales ring may have been involved in the Lake View Terrace killings.

In custody are Le Roy Wheeler, 19, of Sylmar; and Stanley Bryant, 30, Tannis Bryant Curry, 26, and James Franklin Williams III, 19, all of Pacoima. They are charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder in the wounding of English’s 18-month-old son, Carlos. Nash Newbil, 52, who is also in custody, is charged with being an accessory to murder.

At large are John Preston Settle, 28; William Gene Settle, 30; Provine McCloria, 19, and Antonio Arceneaux, whose age was unavailable, all of Pacoima. Arceneaux and John Preston Settle are charged with four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. McCloria and William Gene Settle are charged with one count each of accessory to murder.