Half-Brothers Found Guilty in Church Murders : Trial: Neither was in court to hear verdict that could bring death penalty. One was stabbed this week by a fellow jail inmate; the other tried to kill himself.

In a verdict that could send them to Death Row, two half-brothers were found guilty Thursday of murdering two people and trying to kill a third at a church in South Los Angeles 3 1/2 years ago.

But neither of the defendants was in court to hear the verdicts by a Los Angeles Superior Court jury. Anthony Oliver, 31, was in critical condition after being stabbed 40 times by another inmate at the Men’s Central Jail this week, and Albert Lewis, 36, was under a suicide watch after he twice tried to slash his wrists.

The jurors returned guilty verdicts on all counts in the deaths of Eddie Mae Lee, 76, and Patronella Luke, 35--gunned down at the Mt. Olive Church of God in Christ on July 21, 1989--and the attempted murder of Luke’s husband, Peter, who was wounded.

Prosecutors are asking that Oliver and Lewis be sentenced to death. The penalty phase of their trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 23

Deputy Dist. Atty. Marcia Clark maintained during the monthlong trial that the shooting stemmed from the breakup of Lewis’ marriage, and she argued that he and Oliver sought revenge on the relatives of Lewis’ wife. Patronella Luke was a cousin of the then-estranged wife.

The masked gunmen burst in on worshipers, including about 30 children. One of the men guarded the door while the other prowled the aisles, apparently looking for someone. When he reached the Lukes, he opened fire. Lee was shot down as she tried to flee.

Oliver and Lewis were arrested a few days later. The shotguns used in the attacks were traced to them, Clark said.

As the verdicts were read, relatives of the Lukes, members of the Mt. Olive church and Lewis’ former wife seemed pleased.

“We’ve been waiting for this for years,” Marcus Davis, a cousin of Patronella Luke, said later.

Asked what he thought of the prospects of Oliver and Lewis being sentenced to death, he said: “They deserve it.”

Richard Leonard, Lewis’ defense lawyer, predicted that the jury would not recommend the death penalty for Lewis.

“My client is not going to get the death penalty because he was outside (the church). He is not the triggerman,” Leonard said.

William Turner, one of Oliver’s lawyers, said the verdict was disappointing.

“The evidence was purely circumstantial,” he said. “Two people saw the faces of the gunmen, but neither identified my client.”

Clark, however, maintained that “circumstantial evidence carries the same weight as direct evidence.”

She had insisted that the verdicts be read Thursday, even though the injured Oliver could not appear in court or waive his right to attend. She said the remainder of the trial cannot proceed without him unless he gives his consent.

That could mean the penalty phase will be delayed. Turner said it might be weeks before Oliver can appear in court.

The knife attack on Oliver and the suicide attempts by Lewis occurred after the jury began deliberating this week. Jurors were not told about the incidents. Oliver, though gravely injured, is expected to recover. Lewis’ wounds were described as superficial.

Authorities still had no motive in the attack on Lewis, which occurred late Tuesday afternoon, less than three hours after the case went to the jury. Charges were expected to be filed against the alleged assailant, Johnny Mercado, 21.

A Sheriff’s Department spokesmen said Mercado used a hacksaw blade to cut through the bars of his cell, hid behind a door and ambushed Oliver with a homemade knife as two deputies were escorting him from court back to his high-security unit. Oliver was in shackles and handcuffs attached to a waist chain.

The unarmed deputies, faced with an armed inmate, “made a decision to back off and call for assistance,” said Sgt. Larry Lincoln.

By the time help arrived, he said, “the attack had stopped and the attacker had retreated to his cell.” Mercado was then shot with plastic bullets and disarmed, Lincoln said.