VAN NUYS : 3 Ordered to Stand Trial in Crime Wave, 2 Killings
Three Los Angeles men were ordered to stand trial Monday on more than 50 charges stemming from a five-month crime wave that included the murders of a Van Nuys storekeeper and a Maywood police officer.
After a monthlong preliminary hearing, Municipal Judge Michael S. Luros said there was enough evidence to link the trio to the May 4, 1992, shooting of Woodley Market owner Lee Chul Kim and the killing of Officer John A. Hoglund less than a month later.
Carlos Juarez, 23, Jose Contreras, 21, and Benjamin Alberto Navarro, 22, were ordered to appear in Superior Court for an arraignment on May 3.
In addition to two murder counts, the three Salvadoran nationals face five special circumstance allegations which could lead to the death penalty if they are convicted. Luros also ruled they should stand trial on one count of attempted murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of assault with a stun gun, 41 counts of robbery and eight counts of attempted robbery.
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