Man Pleads Not Guilty in Slaying

An Encino man whose ex-wife implicated him in a July, 1981, Topanga Canyon killing pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a murder charge, officials said.

Mitchell Lowell Mitnick, 52, made the plea during his arraignment in Glendale Municipal Court, district attorney’s officials said. He is accused of killing Robert Allen, 48, of Los Angeles with the special allegation of committing the crime during a robbery, which could result in the death penalty if he is convicted.

“That’s a possibility, but that determination won’t be made until a later date” after the preliminary hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Mark Collier said. A bail hearing has been set for Tuesday, and a preliminary hearing has been scheduled for April 28.

Authorities allege that Mitnick shot Allen once in the head on July 3, 1981. Allen’s body was found by sheriff’s deputies two days later in the canyon.

Last month, Glendale police arrested Mitnick’s former wife, Holly Hoffman, on a warrant for violating her probation stemming from a drug-related conviction.

According to Glendale investigator Tom Kuh, Hoffman told detectives during questioning that Mitnick once mentioned killing a man 12 or 13 years ago and dumping his body in Topanga.