Accused Killer of Parks’ Granddaughter Faces 8 New Charges

The man accused of killing police Chief Bernard C. Parks’ 20-year-old granddaughter pleaded not guilty Wednesday to eight new charges of attempted murder.

The latest charges against Samuel Sharad Shabazz, 19, of Los Angeles, involve three alleged attacks within a week in December 1998.

On June 8, he was charged with one count each of murder and attempted murder in connection with the May 28 killing of Parks’ granddaughter, Lori Rene Gonzalez, and the attempted killing of Ernest Gray, an alleged rival of Shabazz’s.

Shabazz also pleaded not guilty to those charges, which include the special circumstance allegation that he was an active participant in a criminal street gang and that the murder was carried out to further the activities of that gang.

Over the objections of Shabazz’s defense attorney, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin Brown on Wednesday let prosecutors consolidate the two cases.

Deputy Alternate Public Defender Mark Zavidow argued that the additional charges should be resolved in juvenile court because his client was a minor at the time of the alleged attacks.

The district attorney’s office originally filed the counts in December 1999, but the charges were dismissed three weeks before Gonzalez was shot to death. The charges were subsequently refiled in Superior Court.