Jury Convicts 2 Men in Killing at San Fernando Valley Mall

After deliberating less than four hours, a Van Nuys Superior Court jury Monday convicted two 20-year-old men of spraying gunfire at a group of youths at Fallbrook Mall, killing a 16-year-old Taft High School student in an incident that jangled nerves in a comparatively low-crime area of the western San Fernando Valley.

Tommy Lee Williams of Van Nuys was found guilty of murder with the special circumstance of lying in wait, which carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Prosecutors said he fired nine shots from a .22-caliber handgun while riding in a Ford Escort with Elliott O’Neal Singletary of Van Nuys and four high school girls.

Singletary, who sat in the front passenger seat while Williams sat in back, was convicted of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder, which means a prison term of 26 years to life plus five life sentences.

His attorney said such a sentence effectively means life behind bars without parole.

A sentencing hearing was set for Sept. 18.

Singletary broke into tears when the verdict was read. Williams, who had remained solemn throughout the trial, which began with jury selection Aug. 5, tapped his hand nervously on the courtroom table.

The shooting June 9, 1995, killed Ramtin Shaolian of Woodland Hills, sent another youth to the hospital with a leg wound and drew attention largely because of the socioeconomic mix of people in the car.

Police linked Williams, who went by the name “Ace Capone,” and Singletary, nicknamed “Chocolate,” to a gang called Every Woman’s Fantasy--an association the defense vigorously denied.

The girls--three 16-year-olds and a 17-year-old--are from comfortable backgrounds in upscale neighborhoods and had no criminal records. They had joined the two men for a Friday night of cruising and drinking.

All four girls in the car initially were booked on murder charges. The girl who drove the car still faces a murder charge in Juvenile Court, but two others were granted immunity in exchange for becoming star prosecution witnesses.

The fourth girl faces no charges but was not called as a prosecution witness because she allegedly helped Williams and Singletary target the intended victim. Witnesses testified that an altercation that prompted the shooting began when Singletary asked one of six youths walking outside the mall in West Hills if he was a gang member.

At that point, witnesses said, one boy swore and replied, “Do you think we look like gangbangers?”

Angered by the reply, Singletary ordered his group back to the car and directed the girl driving to go to the dimly lighted rear of the mall. The car slowed, headlights off, until the other group of youths walked by.

One of the girls then pointed out the boy who had answered defiantly to Singletary’s question. The two who testified said they ducked their heads because Singletary told them to, not realizing that Williams had a gun and was about to use it in a drive-by shooting.

“The car came to almost a complete halt. At that point [Williams] was already leaning out the window, and he started shooting,” one girl testified.

As the car sped away, witnesses testified Williams yelled out, “You don’t gangbang? Well you do now!” The prosecution said he then repeated the comment to the others in the car. Shaolian, who was not the intended target, died hours later of stomach wounds.

Defense attorneys for Williams and Singletary attacked the girls’ credibility, saying they consulted with each other, created a common story and lied on the witness stand to distance themselves from the crime.

Singletary’s attorney, Phil Nameth, said he was amazed at the speed of the jury’s decision. “I can’t believe it,” he said.

Nameth also said in an interview that race was a factor. Both defendants are black. There were no blacks on the mostly white jury. One of the girls who testified against them is black.

“Welcome to Van Nuys,” Nameth said. “A jury pool of 100 and only three African Americans. . . . You can’t tell me that anything but an all-white jury would do what they did.”