CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : OAKLAND : Suspect in Newton Slaying Faces Trial
An Oakland Municipal judge, rejecting a claim of self-defense, ordered Tyrone D. Robinson to stand trial in the Aug. 22 curbside killing of Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton. The ruling by Judge George Nelson came at Robinson’s preliminary hearing, where the alleged prison gang member claimed that he killed Newton in self-defense. The defendant, portrayed by the prosecution as having killed Newton to advance his standing with the Black Guerrilla Family gang, says he shot Newton in self-defense after the armed victim demanded cocaine. The prosecution successfully protested testimony supporting the claim.
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