4 Men Plead Innocent in Abduction, Slaying of 2 College Students

Four young men from South-Central Los Angeles pleaded innocent Wednesday at their arraignment on charges of having murdered two college students who were kidnaped off a street near UCLA.

Two of the accused--Damon Layte Redmon, 19, and Stanley Bernard Davis, 23--face allegations of special circumstances that could mean either the death penalty or life imprisonment without possibility of parole if they are convicted.

No special circumstances were alleged, however, against defendants Deandre Antwine Brown, 21, and Donald Roy Bennett, 21. Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Genelin said the possibility that one or both of them might testify against the others in return for a reduced sentence “is being considered now.”

Held Without Bail

West Los Angeles Municipal Judge Richard G. Berry ordered all four held without bail and scheduled a preliminary hearing in the case for Dec. 3 in the same court.

Security was tight during the arraignment, and spectators were moved into a hallway outside the courtroom and searched before the accused were allowed to enter.

All four are charged with the murders of Brian Harris, 20, and Michelle Ann Boyd, 19, both of Thousand Oaks, whose bodies were found Sunday in the Santa Monica Mountains. Both had been shot in the head in what police described as “execution-style.”

Miss Boyd, who had just completed her first day of college at UCLA, and Harris, a student at California State University, Northridge, were last seen Sept. 30 outside Miss Boyd’s apartment house in Westwood.

Police said they were abducted and slain by four men who were searching the area for a car they intended to use in a robbery.

Burned Car Found

Harris’ car was found, burned and abandoned, in the Florence-Firestone district--but the fire failed to obliterate a fingerprint that eventually led detectives first to Davis and then to the others, police said.

In addition to the two murder counts, all four defendants were charged with two counts of robbery, two counts of kidnaping for the purpose of robbery and one count of stealing a car.

Special circumstances allegations against Redmon and Davis include multiple murders, murder during the course of a robbery and murder during the course of a kidnaping. Davis also faces a special circumstance charge of killing a witness to a crime, and a charge of being an ex-convict in possession of a gun.

District attorney’s spokesman Al Albergate said Deputy Dist. Atty. Harvey Giss will be lead prosecutor in the case.