Bail in Denny Case Raises Dispute : Courts: Supporters of the four suspects say the amounts are excessive. The judge cites their criminal records and the injuries inflicted on the truck driver.

A judge rejected arguments Thursday that three of four suspects in the April 29 beating of Reginald O. Denny should be denied bail, but set the amounts so high that families and supporters of the accused men said they would be hard-pressed to post it.

Municipal Judge William R. Chidsey Jr. set bail amounts ranging from $160,000 to $195,000 for the three main suspects in the case. The fourth suspect, Gary Anthony Williams, is not charged with beating Denny but with second-degree robbery. His bail was set at $50,000. All four suspects pleaded not guilty.

But even as the families were trying to raise the money to make that bail, they discovered that a federal detainer had been filed against the three main suspects--Damian Monroe (Football) Williams, Antoine Eugene (Twan) Miller and Henry Keith (Kiki)Watson. That means that even if supporters of the men raise the bail money needed to satisfy the state court, the suspects will be detained federally until a bail hearing can be held.

Those developments Thursday left family members and supporters of the suspects confused and angry, and some accused the government of moving aggressively against the men because they are black. Police officers in South Los Angeles went on tactical alert to guard against any flare-ups in violence, but there were no reports of bail-related disturbances.

“What the state court giveth, the federal court chooses to take away,” said Georgina Williams, mother of Damian Williams. “I didn’t know the federal government was racist. Now I do.”

At the hearing, Chidsey cited the criminal records of the suspects and the seriousness of the injuries to Denny--who was dragged from his truck and beaten senseless on live television--as reasons for the bail amounts. He rejected the prosecution’s arguments that the men posed a danger to the community solely because of their alleged association with the Eight-Tray Gangster Crips, a street gang based in the South Los Angeles area where the Denny beating took place.

The bail hearing had been closely watched by supporters of the defendants, many of whom viewed the amount as a litmus test of equal justice. In interviews and news conferences, community leaders and activists have demanded that the Denny beating suspects receive the same treatment that was accorded to the four white police officers charged with beating black motorist Rodney G. King last year.

In that case, bail for three of the four officers was set at $30,000. The fourth posted a $5,000 bond.

“I believe that there is a devilish disparity” between the bail amounts in the Denny case and in the King case, said Khallid Abdul Mohammad, national assistant to Minister Louis Farrakhan, who heads the Nation of Islam. “I believe that this bail is excessive.”

Prosecutors, including Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner and U.S. Atty. Lourdes G. Baird, have defended the decision to seek a higher bail for the Denny suspects than for the officers on the grounds that the officers do not have criminal records and do not pose as great a risk to flee the community.

Reiner, at a news conference last week, rejected any comparison between the two cases.

“The two cases are not comparable and cannot be compared,” he said. They are similar only in that they rely on videotaped evidence, he added, but noted that many trials use videos or photographs.

Unlike the officers in the King case, the three principal suspects in the Denny beating--Damian Williams, Miller and Watson--has a criminal record. Their arrests range from misdemeanor traffic violations to armed robbery and grand theft. Each has at least one conviction, according to court records.

Williams, Miller and Watson are charged with attempted murder, torture and mayhem. If convicted, they could spend the rest of their lives in state prison.

In addition, a federal complaint charges the three main defendants with interfering with interstate commerce, and Baird has indicated that her office is considering filing civil rights charges against the men, as well as charging them with other riot-related crimes.

As they left a packed courtroom, supporters of the suspects for the most part declined comment, and some scuffled with reporters and cameramen who blocked their way to the elevators. Reached later, most condemned the size of the bail even as they scrambled to raise it.

Greg Colston, who helped raise Miller, said he did not think he could raise the money. “Nobody lives in Malibu here,” he said. “I can cover about $50,000, but that leaves me $110,000 short. Where am I supposed to get that?”

Georgina Williams said she hoped to be able to produce the $195,000 in collateral needed to free her son on bail. But she too complained of the disparity between the bail amounts in this case and in the King beating.

“It shows that there is no justice for black people in America,” she said.

Before making his ruling, Chidsey first rejected prosecution attempts to have the three men held without bail, or failing that, to require that each post a $1-million bond. That amount, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lawrence C. Morrison, was consistent with the bail required in some major narcotics cases.

Miller’s lawyer dismissed that as “ridiculous.”

“This is not a Colombian drug cartel,” he said.

Although Judge Chidsey agreed to lower the bail far below the $1-million mark, the defendants will have to clear several hurdles before any can actually go free.

According to their supporters, none of the suspects has large sums of money. Some of their families own property, which can be used as collateral, but even that may not be enough in some cases, leaving them dependent on local fund-raising efforts.

“Mr. (Gary) Williams needs to rely on the community,” said Arleen Binder, his lawyer. “He’s hoping that they can raise the bail money.”

Supporters are selling T-shirts and raising money other ways. The Watsons hosted a “Hair-a-Thon” Sunday at which hairdressers donated their time, and supporters paid $20 each for a haircut. Proceeds went to the defense fund.

The Nation of Islam has begun raising funds as well, and supporters are hoping to stage fund-raisers this weekend.

For the other three suspects, the federal detainer complicates things further. If a federal judge tacks on additional bail, they would have to raise that money on top of what the state is requiring. In the meantime, state and federal prosecutors say they are considering new charges against the three main defendants, which could increase their bail yet again.

“It doesn’t look good,” Greg Colston said Thursday afternoon. “If they had this much money, people wouldn’t have been looting that night. That’s the whole problem: We don’t have this kind of money.”