One Youth Charged in Murder of Students : Crime: Raymond Butler could face the death penalty in slaying of two Japanese teen-agers. Officials say Alberto Reygoza’s involvement is less than at first believed.

Murder charges that carry a possible death penalty were filed Friday against a suspect in the killings of two college students from Japan. Another man, whose involvement in the case is said to be less than originally thought, was charged as an accessory after the fact.

Raymond Oscar Butler, 18, is accused of shooting the two students to death--charged by the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office with two counts of murder, two counts of robbery and two counts of carjacking.

The possible death penalty stems from special circumstance allegations that last week’s fatal shootings of Takuma Ito and Go Matsuura, both 19, occurred during a robbery and constituted a multiple murder.

Alberto Vasquez Reygoza, 20, is charged with one count of being an accessory after the fact and one count of receiving stolen property. Each count carries a maximum penalty of three years in state prison.

The appearance of the two men in court Friday was their first since their arrests Wednesday night. Their arraignment--during which they would enter pleas--had been scheduled, but it was continued until April 12 to give defense attorneys more time to prepare cases.

For Friday’s brief proceedings, Butler was represented by Deputy Public Defender Stanley Perlo and Reygoza was represented by court-appointed attorney John B. Schmocker.

Superior Court Judge James B. Pierce ordered Butler held without bail. Bail for Reygoza was set at $45,000.

During a short news conference after Friday’s court appearances, Deputy Dist. Atty. Janet Moore and the two defense attorneys declined to reveal details of the attack or to discuss the roles of each defendant.

Moore, who will prosecute the case, said Butler was not alone when the attack took place. Schmocker said it “is a fair assumption” that Reygoza was not there.

Reygoza’s involvement was “much less than was originally suspected,” Moore said. “In order to charge Mr. Reygoza with murder he would have to have been either a perpetrator or an accomplice. The evidence does not support either of those determinations.”

Count 7 of the eight-count complaint filed Friday states that Reygoza “did harbor, conceal and aid” Butler “with the intent that he might avoid and escape . . . arrest, trial, conviction and punishment.”

Count 8 accuses Reygoza of receiving stolen property, including a “camera, car radio installation, clothing and miscellaneous personal items.”

Moore declined to comment on whether Reygoza will testify against Butler. Los Angeles police say Ito and Matsuura were shot in the head at close range about 11 p.m. March 25 as they got out of a car in the parking lot of a Ralphs supermarket in San Pedro. Police say the suspects planned to rob the students and took the car on impulse.

Declared brain-dead soon after the attack, the young men--students at Marymount College in Rancho Palos Verdes--were taken off life-support systems at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and pronounced dead Sunday night.

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The attack reinforced a growing perception overseas that Los Angeles is a hotbed of violence, and the crime generated headlines in newspapers, lead stories on television, concern among Japanese officials and reassurances from U.S. dignitaries.

Late Sunday, acting on a tip, police found the stolen car--stripped of its stereo system--near where the students were shot.

Detectives said evidence from the car and information from witnesses led them to the two suspects, who were kept under 24-hour surveillance for two days as investigators continued to build the case against them.

Butler and Reygoza, both said by police to be gang members, were arrested late Wednesday.

At midmorning Friday, detectives placed the two handcuffed suspects into unmarked police cars at the LAPD’s Parker Center headquarters for the trip to the courthouse in Long Beach.

Butler, who wore a blue T-shirt and baggy black shorts, stared at the ground as a dozen TV news cameras photographed the scene.

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He ignored questions shouted by reporters asking whether he had killed the students. But as he sat in the car, he told reporters through an open window: “Go easy on my parents, all right?”

Reygoza, who followed Butler down the ramp and into another car, shook his head “no” to questions from reporters asking whether he committed the crime.

The two young men showed up in Long Beach Superior Court shortly after 1:30 p.m.

Reygoza saw several familiar faces in the audience and smiled at them. Butler scanned the crowd but did not react.

After Pierce granted Perlo’s request for a continuance, the judge asked the defendants if that was all right with them.

“Yes, sir,” each of them replied before being led out of the courtroom.