Man Charged With Murder in SUV Crash
A Chatsworth man who police say led them on a chase that ended in the death of an elderly woman pleaded not guilty to murder charges Wednesday, authorities said.
James McMann, 22, was charged in San Fernando Superior Court with murder with the special circumstances of fleeing a robbery and burglary, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. McMann also pleaded not guilty to one count each of robbery, burglary, carjacking and evading arrest, she said.
Prosecutors have not decided whether to seek the death penalty, Gibbons said. Otherwise, if McMann is convicted of murder with special circumstances, he would face life in prison without the possibility of parole, she said. McMann is being held without bail. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 24.
Charlotte Lenga, a 77-year-old Holocaust survivor, was killed Dec. 15 when a stolen Chevrolet Suburban allegedly driven by McMann, who was being trailed by police, broadsided Lenga’s compact car on White Oak Avenue near Miranda Street in Encino.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
