SAN FERNANDO : Slain Guard’s Boss Testifies

A participant in an armed robbery appears to have intentionally killed a armored guard during the 1992 robbery of a San Fernando Home Depot, the victim’s supervisor testified Wednesday.

Frank O’Farrell, head of security for Sectran Security Transportation, testified in the trial of Sean Darnell Slade, who is accused of first-degree murder in the death of Edwin Maldonado, a former Pasadena police officer.

O’Farrell said that whoever shot Maldonado must have wanted to kill him, because the 26-year-old--who wore a bulletproof vest--was shot twice in the head.

On the second day of testimony in Slade’s trial in San Fernando Superior Court, O’Farrell, whose company provides armored vehicles to transport cash and receipts, said the robbery appeared to be well-planned. It was too much of a coincidence that both the camera and the alarm system at the store were disabled on the day of the holdup, he said.

Four people are believed to have participated in the robbery--one driving the getaway car and three waiting near the vault for Maldonado.

“They approached him (guard) from the side and shot him immediately in the head. He did not have a chance,” said O’Farrell, who was not at the scene.

Slade faces the death penalty if convicted of murder in the course of a robbery and while lying in wait. The other three participants have not been arrested.

Defense attorney Bruce Hill said in opening arguments Tuesday that Slade had an alibi for the time of the murder. He said in an interview Wednesday that Slade picked up his wife in downtown Los Angeles around 4 p.m. on July 20, 1992, about 45 minutes after the shooting.

The trial is expected to continue for about five weeks.