Sisters Accused in Death Plot Rebuff Police

Both sisters accused in a bizarre, botched murder plot have refused to talk to police while the suspected target of the scheme, a veteran city prosecutor, is cooperating, authorities said Thursday.

Los Angeles police were informed that Lynette LaFontaine-Trujillo, who is hospitalized in intensive care with a gunshot wound suffered when the alleged plot went awry, has refused to be interviewed by detectives.

Capt. Ronald Bergmann said he received a letter from her public defender stating that LaFontaine-Trujillo has asserted her 5th and 6th Amendment privileges against self-incrimination and protecting her right to a fair trial.

LaFontaine-Trujillo’s younger sister, Nicole Garza, the alleged mastermind of the scheme to kill her husband, Jose Garza, already has refused to be interviewed by police. She remains in custody in Van Nuys Jail on $1 million bail.

Jose Garza, 50, spent about an hour with detectives Wednesday, Bergmann said.

Police said Nicole Garza plotted with her sister to kill Jose Garza.

They say she sent him to the garage to fetch ice cream; once there, he exchanged shots with LaFontaine-Trujillo, who was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, dark glasses and a black wig.