Jury Deadlocks in Disc Jockey Slaying Case; New Trial Vowed

After deliberating for more than a week, a Superior Court jury deadlocked Thursday in the murder trial of a Paramount man accused of killing a local nightclub disc jockey during a failed auto robbery.

Judge Robert Fitzgerald declared a mistrial after determining that the jury was split 10 to 2 in favor of a murder conviction against Ramiro Jimenez Navarro. The panel did, however, return guilty verdicts against Navarro, 24, on two counts of robbery in unrelated vehicle thefts.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert C. Gannon Jr. said he was disappointed with the outcome and vowed to retry Navarro for the Aug. 16, 1987, slaying of Frank Berman, 24.

Navarro’s attorney, Edward Hall, could not be reached for comment.

Navarro, who faced the death penalty, remains in custody. He will not be sentenced for the auto thefts until after his murder case is decided, Gannon said.

The prosecution’s case hinged largely on the testimony of Luz Maria Jimenez, who was with Berman at the time of the shooting and identified Navarro as the killer in a police lineup two months later.

Jimenez had told investigators that the slaying occurred while she and Berman were talking in a car parked outside her residence. She said a man approached and tried to open the door. As Berman closed the door and started the car to escape, he was shot in the head.

The shooting occurred at a time when a gang of thieves was suspected of committing a rash of violent auto robberies in the area. Police believe that Berman’s death was connected to those robberies.

Navarro was identified by Jimenez after he and four others were arrested in Paramount on suspicion of auto theft.

Hall conceded during the trial that his client was guilty of the auto thefts but was not involved in the murder.

A hearing to set a new trial date is scheduled for July 19.