2 Men Plead Innocent to Plotting Killings
Two Newhall men pleaded innocent Monday to charges that they tried to arrange the murder of two employees of a male striptease dance troupe, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Augustine Ralph Angel Colon, 46, and William Nelson Barnes Jr., 31, were charged with conspiracy and with using interstate commerce facilities, such as long-distance telephone lines, to arrange a murder for hire, Assistant U. S. Atty. Sean Berry said.
The pair allegedly offered another man $50,000 to poison with cyanide two employees of Adonis, a British-based troupe of mostly American male strippers that has toured extensively overseas. Authorities have declined to give details of any connection between the defendants and the dance revue and its employees.
If convicted, Colon and Barnes could each face up to 35 years in prison.
Their trial was scheduled to begin Oct. 15 before U. S. District Judge William J. Rea, Berry said. The two were being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles.
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