LOS ANGELES : Witness Jailed for Refusing to Testify in Murder Case

A witness whose mother was killed after a death threat went to jail Wednesday for refusing to testify about the murder of two Compton policemen, claiming the defendant’s gang friends were out to kill him, too.

Judge Edward A. Ferns sent Calvin Cooksey, 33, to County Jail without bail until he testifies or until the end of the trial. The judge ordered Cooksey back in court Monday to take the stand again.

Regis Deon Thomas, 23, is accused of killing Officers James MacDonald and Kevin Burrell after they stopped his car in February, 1993. Cooksey led police to the murder weapon, a handgun, and implicated Thomas at a preliminary hearing, saying he had heard Thomas bragging about killing the officers.

After the hearing, Cooksey told police that the Bounty Hunters, Thomas’ alleged gang, were threatening him and his family. On Aug. 6, Cooksey’s mother, 51-year-old Viola Pirtle Woods, was shot to death. Investigators did not find a connection between her death and the police killings, said prosecutor Mark Arnold.

A scowling Cooksey was led into Superior Court after about six months in hiding and told Ferns he would not testify “because of security reasons.” Ferns said Cooksey’s fears were not valid and held him in contempt.