LOS ANGELES : 2 Russian Immigrants to Be Tried in 2 Shooting Deaths
A judge on Tuesday ordered two Russian immigrants to stand trial for the shooting deaths of two of their countrymen, whose fingers and thumbs were hacked off after the murders.
Los Angeles Municipal Court Judge Elva Soper decided there is enough evidence to try Sergei Ivanov, 28, and Alexander Nikolaev, 31, for the murders of Andrey Kuznetosov and Vladimir Litvinenko, both 28. The men also are charged with the special circumstances of committing multiple murders, and Nikolaev faces an additional special circumstance of using a firearm during the commission of a felony.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Marcia Clark said that “no decision had been made” on whether to seek the death penalty.
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