Break-In Murder Trial Ends With Jury Deadlocked

A mistrial was declared Friday in the trial of two South-Central Los Angeles men accused in the shooting death of a 67-year-old Woodland Hills man during a burglary of his home.

After weeks of deliberations, the Van Nuys Superior Court jury was unable to agree whether to convict Devin Marcel Feagin and Terrill Ross of murdering Howard David King on April 29, 1988. The jury also was deadlocked on whether to convict the two of residential burglary and robbery.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz ordered Deputy Dist. Atty. Antoinette Brown and the defense attorneys for Feagin and Ross to return to court Monday to set a date for a new trial.

Feagin’s attorney, William M. Thornbury, and Ross’ attorney, Patrick Atkinson, said they will seek to have the charges dismissed.

It was not disclosed in court how the jury voted, but the defense attorneys said their own poll of the jurors revealed a 7-5 split in favor of convicting Feagin and an 8-4 split in favor of acquitting Ross.

Feagin is accused of fatally shooting King in his bedroom while Ross held King’s wife, Faye, 68, at gunpoint on the kitchen floor. The two were linked to the killing by neighbors of the Kings who saw two men in a gold Cadillac drive up the street twice the day before the killing, Brown told jurors.

Ross was arrested driving the car, which was registered to Feagin’s aunt. Feagin turned himself in the next day, officials said. Ross’ fingerprints were found on a newspaper inside the home and Feagin’s fingerprints were found on the outside part of a door. The footprints of both men were found at the home, Brown said.

Feagin, 21, and Ross, 19, both testified that their prints were found outside the King home because they had been running through back yards in the neighborhood to escape unknown assailants the day before King’s murder. Ross testified that he probably touched the newspaper at the police station.

During the four-month trial, Faye King testified that Feagin and Ross crashed through a sliding-glass door of her Woodland Hills home. One of the intruders went into the bedroom where her husband was sleeping and shot him while the other man forced her to lie on the kitchen floor, she said.

Interviewed after the mistrial, several jurors said they were skeptical of Faye King’s testimony because she was unable to pick the men out of lineups. Juror Marva Jackson said she voted against convictions because she believes the police investigation was sloppy.

Because the murder occurred during the commission of another crime, Feagin could be sentenced to death if convicted. Because Ross was only a juvenile at the time, the law precludes him from being put to death.

The two are being held without bail in County Jail. The jury deliberated for three weeks, then began deliberations anew with a new member two weeks ago after its foreman was excused for personal reasons.