Athlete Ordered to Stand Trial in Slaying

A former Littlerock High School track and football star was ordered Friday to stand trial in the beating death of an 18-year-old man at a party in Palmdale.

Antelope Superior Court Judge Carol Koppel found sufficient evidence to hold Marcus Raines, 17, for trial on murder and assault charges in the death of Christopher O’Leary, who died three days after he was punched and kicked in the head at the May 19 party.

Raines is one of three Littlerock athletes charged in O’Leary’s death. Although under 18 at the time of the beating, two of the teenagers have been prosecuted as adults, as Raines will be..

Under a plea agreement in December, Richard Newton, 17, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter and was sentenced last week to four years in state prison with no possibility of parole. Newton also pleaded no contest to a charge of assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, stemming from a second fight with 22-year-old Kevin Walker, another partygoer. A more serious charge of murder was dropped under the agreement.

Teammate Rodney Woods, now 18, pleaded no contest under a plea bargain to assaulting Walker, but charges related to O’Leary’s death were dropped because of lack of evidence. He was sentenced in January to a year in jail and five years’ probation.

Prosecutors contend Newton punched O’Leary in the face, causing him to fall and hit his head on the pavement. Once O’Leary was down, Raines allegedly kicked him in the head, Deputy Dist. Atty. John Portillo has said.

Raines was an All-Golden League linebacker for Littlerock who also was ranked second in the state in the high hurdles. He is being held in lieu of $985,000 bail pending his appearance March 6 in Antelope Superior Court to enter a plea. If convicted, he could be sentenced to life in prison.