Murder Trial Hinges on Key Witness

The credibility of a South-Central Los Angeles man, who turned against three friends accused in the 1985 gangland-style murders of two college sweethearts, became the central issue Monday at the first day of trial for the alleged triggerman in the slayings.

Prosecutors hope that the testimony of DeAndre Brown, 25, is pivotal in getting a conviction against Stanley Davis, 23, a former gang member accused of using an Uzi automatic pistol to shoot and kill UCLA freshman Michelle Anne Boyd, 19, and Cal State Northridge sophomore Brian Edward Harris, 20, in a secluded field in the Santa Monica Mountains.

Prosecutors said they would seek the death penalty if Davis is convicted of first-degree murder.

Authorities said Brown and Davis were among four men who on Sept. 30, 1985, commandeered Harris’ Honda near UCLA, forced Harris into the trunk of the auto and drove the couple to a spot off of Mulholland Drive. There, the two were shot in the back of the head.

Cooperated Fully

In his opening statement, Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss said Brown cooperated fully with authorities after his arrest several days after the couple’s bodies were discovered. Brown implicated Davis and two others, Damond Redmond, 24, and Donald Bennett, 23, in the deaths. The four had schemed to steal a car for a liquor store robbery in Barstow, but that never occurred, the prosecution said.

According to Giss, Brown did not actually see Davis shoot the pair but was only a short distance away and later remembered Davis telling him moments after two shots rang out from the darkened field: “I didn’t want any witnesses.”

“Brown confessed to his role,” Giss told the panel of 19 jurors and alternates.

But according to Davis’ attorneys, it was Brown--granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony--who marched Boyd and Harris into the field and shot them to death.

“(Brown) is a leader, a liar . . . an opportunist,” defense attorney Seymour Applebaum told the jury in his opening statement. “He is a murderer. He is the linchpin of the prosecution’s house of cards. It will fall along with DeAndre Brown.”

Brown’s testimony played a key role in the conviction of Redmond, who was sentenced earlier this year to 53 years to life in state prison for his role in the abductions and slayings.

Pleaded Guilty

Bennett, also of South-Central Los Angeles, pleaded guilty last year to second-degree murder and was sentenced to 18 years to life in state prison.

Also key to the prosecution’s case against Davis, Giss said, are secret tape recordings in which Davis, then incarcerated at the West Los Angeles police jail, admitted he killed the pair.

The trial before Santa Monica Superior Court Judge Leslie W. Light is expected to last about six weeks.