AGOURA HILLS : 2 of 4 Accused in Slaying of Boy Plead Not Guilty
Two of the four teen-agers accused in the stabbing death of an Agoura Hills High School student and the wounding of his friend pleaded not guilty Tuesday to murder, attempted murder and robbery charges.
The juvenile defendants--a 17-year-old Agoura Hills boy and a 15-year- old Thousand Oaks boy--remain in custody after their arraignment in Sylmar Juvenile Court.
Commissioner Jack Gold set a June 16 hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to warrant a trial for the boys in the May 22 knife slaying of 17-year-old James P. Farris III, the son of a Los Angeles police detective.
The charges against the juvenile defendants, whose names were withheld because of their ages, include special allegations that a knife was used and that they intended to inflict great bodily injury.
The two are charged in the killing along with 18-year-old Brandon Wade Hein, of Oak Park in Ventura County. Hein has pleaded not guilty to the same charges, with the special circumstance allegation that the killing was committed in the course of a robbery.
The fourth teen-ager charged in the attack, 18-year-old Jason Skip Holland, is a fugitive.
Michael McLoren, 16, survived the attack. Farris’ body was found next to the injured McLoren in a back yard clubhouse in the 28400 block of Foothill Boulevard.
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