LOCAL : L.A. Man Guilty of Conspiring to Kill Officer at Canoga Park School
A man who helped plan the 1985 revenge slaying of a Los Angeles police detective was convicted today of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, but was acquitted of the actual murder charge by a Van Nuys Superior Court jury.
Voltaire Williams, 25, of Los Angeles was scheduled to be sentenced in Van Nuys Municipal Court March 27 and faces up to 25 years to life in prison.
He was convicted of helping plan the Halloween, 1985, revenge-murder of Los Angeles Police Detective Thomas C. Williams, who was killed in a volley of gunfire as he picked up his 6-year-old son from a Canoga Park day-care center. The child escaped injury. Voltaire Williams is no relation to the slain officer.
The jury is continuing to deliberate the fate of co-defendants Duane Moody, 31, and Reecy Clem Cooper, 34, who face both conspiracy and murder counts.
Two other defendants, Daniel Jenkins, 33, and Ruben Antonio Moss, 26, have been convicted in the ambush killing. Jenkins was sentenced to die in the gas chamber and Moss received life in prison.
Voltaire Williams said he initially agreed to assist Jenkins in planning the officer’s killing but then backed out of the conspiracy.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
