Prosecutors Plan to Use Confessions by 2 Suspects in Denny Case : Courts: Attorneys for the pair contend the statements are either not incriminating or not admissible.

Prosecutors said Wednesday that they plan to introduce statements they characterized as “confessions” against two of the men charged with beating truck driver Reginald O. Denny.

At a hearing in Los Angeles Municipal Court, however, a defense attorney objected to that characterization and said later that he will object to the statements being introduced as evidence. The disputed statements were allegedly made to police officers by Damian Monroe (Football) Williams and Antoine Eugene Miller, two of five suspects charged in the April 29 beating and robbery of Denny.

Denny was attacked at the intersection of Florence and Normandie avenues during the opening hours of rioting in Los Angeles, and his near-fatal beating was broadcast on live television.

Excerpts from Williams’ and Miller’s statements, and others made by the suspects in the assault on Denny, have appeared in news reports, but until Wednesday they had never been discussed in open court.

In his statement, Williams allegedly told police that he hit Denny with a rock and that he had told his mother he participated in the attack on the truck driver. Miller said in his statement that he was at the scene and wanted to steal Denny’s truck but that he never hit him.

“I wanted to steal the truck or anything that was inside the truck,” Miller told police. “I never hit anybody out there, but I did throw some rocks at cars that were driving by.”

According to the statements, both suspects spoke with police after waiving their rights to meet with lawyers. Williams’ statement casts serious doubt on the case his lawyers and supporters have tried to build for his innocence, and his lawyers indicated that they will try to prevent the statement from being introduced at a preliminary hearing scheduled to begin July 31.

Miller’s lawyer, J. Patrick Maginnis, has always acknowledged the existence of his client’s statement and said Wednesday that he was not surprised that prosecutors planned to introduce it as evidence. Maginnis said he had not decided whether to challenge the statement’s admissibility.

“It’s questionable whether Antoine’s statement is even incriminating,” Maginnis said. “His involvement is basically opening up the door of the truck. This is a case of the prosecution overcharging against Antoine.”

In Williams’ case, however, the statement attributed to him indicates that he admitted hitting Denny with a rock. If that is allowed into evidence, it would certainly help prosecutors in their effort to prove attempted murder and aggravated mayhem charges against Williams.

Williams’ attorneys, led by Dennis Palmieri, have for weeks steadfastly refused to acknowledge the existence of the statements attributed to the defendants. Wednesday, Palmieri for the first time admitted that the statements exist, but said they should not be admissible in court.

“Until they are deemed legally competent as admissible evidence, I don’t consider them relevant,” Palmieri said.

Prosecutors also indicated Wednesday that they expect to call several victims of the attacks at Florence and Normandie as witnesses during the preliminary hearing. Videotapes of the beatings taken by news crews and private citizens also will be introduced as evidence, prosecutors said.

In other action, Municipal Judge Larry P. Fidler denied Palmieri’s request to reduce Williams’ bail from $580,000 to $290,000.

Palmieri said Municipal Court Judge William R. Chidsey Jr.’s decision to set bail at $580,000 was “arbitrary and capricious.”

The amount of bail was hotly contested in the days immediately after the arrests of Williams, Miller and two others charged in the attack on Denny--Henry Keith (Kiki) Watson and Gary Anthony Williams. A fifth suspect, Anthony Lamar Brown, was arrested later and is charged with spitting on Denny, a misdemeanor, as well as attacking other people at Florence and Normandie.

At last month’s arraignments, Chidsey set bail for Damian Williams, Miller and Watson at amounts ranging from $500,000 to $580,000. The suspects’ supporters have argued that such high bail makes it virtually impossible for the men to be released while awaiting trial. They also complain that the officers charged with beating Rodney G. King were treated more leniently.

Still, the request to lower the bail in Williams’ case took some observers by surprise because the suspect’s mother, Georgiana Williams, last month told reporters her family had succeeded in accumulating enough collateral to post the $580,000.

Palmieri said Georgiana Williams was under considerable strain as a result of her son’s arrest and that her comments last month were incorrect.

Fidler denied the motion to reduce bail--as well as motions asking the county to appoint an investigator and a videotape expert to assist with Williams’ defense. But he said he would consider new bail motions at the end of the suspects’ preliminary hearing.