2 Men Accused of Slaying to Be Tried Separately

Two men charged with the 1986 slaying of a Los Angeles man whose remains were found near Simi Valley will be tried separately because each defendant implicated the other while confessing the crime to police, the prosecutor said Wednesday.

Under California law, Anthony Adams, 28, of Littlerock and Alan Abraham, 30, of Oceanside cannot be tried together if the prosecution intends to use the confessions as evidence, Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter D. Kossoris said. The jury considering whether Adams is guilty will hear only his tape-recorded confession, and the Abraham jury will hear only that defendant’s admission, Kossoris said.

The pair are charged with murder in the death of Christopher Landry, whose skull was found by a rancher off Black Canyon Road outside Simi Valley last year. Landry, who was 21 when he disappeared, was shot several times with a 9-millimeter pistol, sheriff’s investigators said.

The motive for the shooting is murky, but Kossoris said it occurred after the two men and Landry had a dispute over money that Adams had received to buy cocaine.

Abraham’s confession cannot be used against Adams, and vice versa, because a co-defendant cannot be forced to testify to explain the statements, Kossoris said.

Adams will be tried first, on March 15, immediately after Superior Court Judge Lawrence Storch hears a defense motion that the confessions are inadmissible because the prosecution cannot prove a crime occurred without them.

Kossoris said the same issue was raised at a preliminary hearing in December. He countered it by presenting evidence that the circumstances surrounding Landry’s death are suspicious because Landry did not like to hike, did not go to remote areas alone and had no car.

The defendants are in custody with bail set at $250,000 each.