Man Denies Guilt in Couple’s Slaying

A 34-year-old man on Tuesday pleaded not guilty to the stabbing deaths of Albert Patton, 90, and his wife, Edna, 85, in South Los Angeles last month.

Patton, an ex-county commissioner who once scouted for the Harlem Globetrotters and also co-founded the national 100 Black Men organization for disadvantaged youth, was found in the kitchen of his home May 27 with stab wounds. His wife, who was in a cast recovering from hip surgery, was found in the bedroom with multiple stab wounds.

Stevie Bernard Jackson of Los Angeles, a former tenant in the three-story apartment complex the couple had owned since 1961, was arrested less than a week later at a motel. He is charged with two counts of murder with special circumstances and one count of robbery and is being held without bail.

Homicide detectives said Albert Patton’s wallet and a “large quantity” of money were missing from the home. Police also described the suspect as a cocaine abuser who had been hard-pressed to pay for his habit. An informant reportedly told police that the couple had given Jackson money on previous occasions.

At the time of Jackson’s arrest, police said, they found a shirt that was shown by DNA analysis to have been stained with the victims’ blood.

Jackson returns to court Aug. 16 for a preliminary hearing setting.