San Fernando Valley : No Death Penalty in Slaying of Youth

Prosecutors have decided not to seek the death penalty against two teen-agers accused of killing the son of a Los Angeles police detective in Agoura Hills.

Lael Rubin, Los Angeles County deputy district attorney, said her office will not ask for the death penalty for Brandon Wade Hein, 18, from Oak Park in Ventura County, and Jason Holland, 18, of Thousand Oaks.

Three other boys are also being tried for the murder of James Farris III, 16, but are not eligible for the death penalty because they were minors at the time of the slaying.

Farris, a sophomore at Agoura Hills High, was stabbed to death during an argument at the Agoura Hills home of Michael McLoren, also 16. McLoren received knife wounds but survived the attack.

The trial for all five defendants is scheduled to begin Oct. 6 in Malibu Superior Court.

Prosecutors contend that the murder was committed during a robbery, a special circumstance under which the death penalty may be imposed. But in this case, Rubin said prosecutors decided the penalty was not appropriate in trying the teen-age defendants