Defense targets phone records

Cell-phone records showing an accused Long Beach gang member calling accused accomplices of a Newport Beach couple’s slaying in 2004 and placing him near the scene of the crime will be not be heard by the jury if his defense attorney has his way.

In the last pretrial hearing before jury selection begins for the double-murder trial of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on Friday, Kennedy’s defense attorney Charles Lindner told the judge he filed a motion to keep potentially damaging evidence putting Kennedy’s cell-phone near the killings out of the jury’s sight.

Kennedy, 43, is the third of five to stand trial for the deaths of Tom and Jackie Hawks in 2004. The Hawkses, a retired Newport Beach couple, were looking to sell their boat, the Well Deserved, so they could settle in Arizona and spend more time with their new grandson.

Kennedy is charged with helping Skylar Deleon and another man secure the couple to an anchor and throwing them into the Pacific Ocean alive. Their bodies were never found.

Deleon and his then-wife, Jennifer Henderson, were already convicted for their roles in the crime. Henderson was sentenced to life without parole. Deleon faces sentencing in March and could be put on death row. Alonso Machain, accused of helping Deleon and Kennedy, and Myron Gardner, accused of drawing Kennedy into the plan, will be tried later this year.

Prosecutor Matt Murphy said cell-phone records link Kennedy to Gardner and another man who was also expected to help in the killings but did not show up. Records also show Kennedy’s cell phone was near the Newport Pier around the time the Hawkses were supposed to have taken their last sail out to sea, Murphy said.

Once the jury is selected, Judge Frank Fasel said he will rule on whether the cell-phone evidence can be introduced.

Unlike with Deleon, where there was overwhelming circumstantial evidence and direct evidence linking him to the Hawkses, Kennedy’s ties to the case are questionable, Lindner said. He said he is not simply aiming to spare his client the death penalty, as Deleon’s lawyer is, he’s aiming to prove his innocence. Deleon’s lawyer, Gary Pohlson, acknowledged his client’s guilt in a stunning admission during opening statements. Lindner said he not to expect the same from Kennedy.

Opening statements in Kennedy’s trial will start Thursday at the earliest, attorneys said. The trial is expected to last about a month, Lindner said.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.