HOLLYWOOD : Arraignment Set in Torture-Death Case

Two homeless men accused of the torture and fatal beating of another transient in an abandoned Hollywood building last week are scheduled for arraignment Wednesday on capital murder charges.

If convicted, Edward (Scarface) Fernandez and Brian James (Snoop) Snook, allegedly members of a gang of homeless youths, could receive the death penalty, the district attorney’s office said. The arraignment had been scheduled for Nov. 30, but was moved to Dec. 7.

The two defendants, both 20, allegedly orchestrated a three-hour attack on Robert Lee Bryant that began late on the night of Nov. 26, after Bryant made comments supporting white supremacy, police said.

As many as 15 youths watched or participated in the brutal beating inside the dank, condemned building in the 1800 block of Wilcox Avenue, where dozens of homeless youths lived and used drugs, said Los Angeles Police Detective Andrew Purdy.

Bryant, 34, was badly beaten with a wooden pole and other objects, burned with cigarettes, lighters and candles, choked and urinated on, Purdy said. He died about 1 a.m. Nov. 27 of multiple blunt-force injuries, according to a spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s office.

Authorities are searching for three additional suspects, all of whom are juveniles and have been identified by their legal names or street monikers, Purdy said.