Man Acquitted in Prostitute’s Slaying

A Van Nuys Superior Court jury on Tuesday acquitted a Maryland man, who already has been convicted of the “Cotton Club” murder, of the 1984 slaying of a Van Nuys prostitute.

Robert U. Lowe, 45, of Rockville, Md., was facing the possibility of the death penalty in the slaying of June Mincher, who was gunned down on Sepulveda Boulevard. The chief prosecution witness against Lowe was William M. Mentzer, 42, of Canoga Park, who admitted shooting Mincher to death in a contract killing.

Mentzer, who had reached a plea bargain with prosecutors to avoid the death penalty, testified that Lowe drove the getaway car. Mentzer was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for his role in the killing.

Both Lowe and Mentzer were convicted last year on murder charges for the 1983 slaying of theatrical producer Roy Radin in a dispute over financing of the movie “The Cotton Club.”