Local News in Brief : Man Guilty in Death of Prostitute’s Boyfriend
A Canoga Park man was convicted Friday of manslaughter in a 1987 slaying that prosecutors said was the result of an argument over a payment for sex.
John Taub, 24, had been charged with murder, but the San Fernando Superior Court jury found him guilty of the lesser offense of voluntary manslaughter after a 5-week trial and 4 days of deliberation.
The February, 1987, shooting of Randy Deleo of Los Angeles occurred after Taub had an argument with Deleo’s girlfriend, a prostitute, prosecutors said.
Taub had refused to pay the prostitute, Cary Nolan, 29, of Van Nuys for sex, Deputy Dist. Atty. Rosalie L. Morton said.
Deleo returned to Taub’s apartment with Nolan to collect the money, Morton said. Taub fatally shot him and wounded Nolan, she said.
At his trial, Taub contended that he fired in self-defense, believing that Deleo was reaching for a gun. Prosecutors had charged Taub with the attempted murder of Nolan, but the jury acquitted him of that charge on Friday.
Taub is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 28.
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