THE DENNY BEATING TRIAL: THE VERDICTS : Sequence of Events

Here are some key dates in the Reginald O. Denny beating trial.

1992

* April 29: Four Los Angeles police officers receive not guilty verdicts in the beating of Rodney G. King, sparking three days of rioting in Los Angeles. Denny and others passing through Florence and Normandie avenues are attacked in one of the opening acts of violence.

* May 12: Defendants Henry Keith Watson and Damian Monroe Williams are arrested in pre-dawn raids by investigators from a joint task force of local and federal officials.

* July 31: Preliminary hearing begins.

* Aug. 11: Williams fires his defense attorney for falsifying his resume. Edi M.O. Faal is appointed to replace him.

* Aug. 25: Watson and Williams are arraigned in Superior Court on a variety of felony charges, including attempted murder, assault, torture, aggravated mayhem and throwing objects at occupied vehicles. Judge Roosevelt Dorn is appointed to preside over the trial of Watson and Williams. Prosecution removes Dorn by a peremptory challenge. Judge George Trammell is then appointed to hear the case. Trammell is removed by the defense through a peremptory challenge. Judge John Reid is then appointed.

* Oct. 15: Reid is removed from the case by the state Court of Appeal. Judge John W. Ouderkirk, a former deputy district attorney and former police officer, is appointed to hear the case.

* Oct. 27: Denny files claim against the city, accusing the Los Angeles Police Department of failing to protect him.

1993

* July 28: Jury selection begins, but less than half the number of potential jurors summoned by the court report for selection.

* Aug. 12: A jury of five Anglos, three African-Americans, three Latinos and an Asian-American is sworn in.

* Aug. 19: Trial begins with opening arguments.

* Aug. 23: Alicia Maldonado describes the clothing of defendants and how rioters smashed her car windows as she drove through the intersection.

* Aug. 25: Denny testifies for the first time, saying he cannot identify anyone who participated in the attack and has no recollection of anything that happened to him after a heavy object shattered the passenger window of his truck. Williams’ mother and Watson’s parents embrace Denny as he leaves the courtroom.

* Aug. 26: Four African-Americans describe rescuing Denny.

* Aug. 30: An Anglo juror becomes ill; she is replaced by a Latina alternate juror.

* Aug. 31: Gas station cashier Gabriel Quintana becomes the first witness to testify that Williams hit Denny on the head with a brick. Motorist Takao Hirata testifies how he was pulled from his car and beaten.

* Sept. 3: TV helicopter reporter Bob Tur identifies Williams and Watson.

* Sept. 7: Los Angeles Police Officer Timothy McRath recognizes Williams from many previous encounters; identifies him on the videotape and tells of seeing him at the scene.

* Sept. 14: Williams rolls up his sleeve to reveal a rose tattoo similar to the one shown in enhanced photos.

* Sept. 17: Prosecution rests after putting 36 witnesses on the stand and presenting 130 exhibits, including three eyewitnesses who identified Williams and Watson as Denny’s assailants.

* Sept. 22: Defense witness Armando Torres Morales, a UCLA professor and specialist in mob psychology, describes the “group contagion theory” of crowd behavior.

* Sept. 23: A plastic surgeon testifies that a brick shown on the videotape hitting Denny in the head did not cause the extensive injuries to his skull and face. Defense rests after calling nine witnesses.

* Sept. 28: Closing arguments: Defense says defendants were made into scapegoats for the riots. Prosecution calls them thugs.

* Sept. 30: The case is handed to the jury.

* Oct. 11: Judge replaces a black woman juror with an Asian female alternate after other jurors complain that the black woman was not comprehending proceedings.

* Oct. 12: A white male juror asks to be dismissed for personal reasons and is replaced by a black male. Deliberations begin for a third time and two counts that had been decided have to be discussed again.

* Oct. 13: Defense attorney asks judge to dismiss a white female juror after jurors complain that she interrupted proceedings to say she missed her boyfriend. Judge denies motion.

* Oct. 18: The jury returns with some verdicts.