OAK PARK : Suspect in Stabbings Pleads Not Guilty

An Oak Park man pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he and three other teens fatally stabbed a 16-year-old Agoura High School student and wounded another.

Brandon Wade Hein, 18, was arraigned in Malibu Municipal Court on a charge of murder with the special circumstance that it was committed during a robbery. That charge could make him eligible for the death penalty, should prosecutors choose to pursue it.

Hein, who is in custody without bail, is also charged with one count of attempted murder and two counts of attempted robbery.

Two juveniles have been charged with similar counts in the same crime and are scheduled to be arraigned today in San Fernando Valley Juvenile Court in Sylmar. Deputy Dist. Atty. Laura Foland-Priver said that after the youths are arraigned, a hearing will be held at a later date to determine if the teen-agers--a 15-year-old from Thousand Oaks and a 17-year-old from Agoura Hills--should be tried as adults.

Another suspect, Jason (Skip) Holland, 18, of Thousand Oaks, has also been charged in the incident, but remains at large.

The four teen-agers are accused of attacking Mike McLoren and James Farris III, both 16, on Monday during a botched attempt to steal property from McLoren at his home.

The two 16-year-olds were stabbed numerous times. Farris, the son of an LAPD detective, died at Westlake Medical Center. McLoren was taken to UCLA Medical Center, where he is expected to recover.

Police said that the four suspects were members of a group that sheriff’s deputies called a “wanna-be gang.” Detectives said the four defendants had recently been stealing from a clubhouse McLoren had built in his back yard.