Opinion ID: 1377397
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Brookhaven Motel Murders

Text: Robert Yang and his family owned and lived in the Brookhaven Motel on South Vermont Street in Los Angeles. About 5 a.m. on March 11, 1979, he heard a woman's screams and three or four shots. A few minutes later he left his bedroom and saw that the door separating the motel office from the living quarters was open. It appeared the door had been forced open from the outside. He discovered his father, mother and sister had all been fatally wounded by shotgun fire. The cash drawer was open and empty. The police found two shotgun shell casings at the scene. A firearms expert testified that one of the shells could have been fired only from a weapon identified as having been purchased by defendant in 1974. Three witnesses provided testimony regarding defendant's involvement in the Brookhaven incident. Samuel Coleman, testifying as an immunized witness, said that on March 10 he and defendant went to the Showcase Bar where he remained until it closed around 6 a.m. He last remembered seeing defendant about 2:30 a.m., but the next day defendant told him that he had robbed and killed some people on Vermont Street. Defendant said he got approximately $50 and was going to use it to buy PCP. James Garrett testified that defendant kept some of his possessions at the Garrett house and stayed there approximately five days a week. Early on the morning of March 13, 1979, defendant told Garrett and his wife that he had heard that some Chinese people had been killed on Vermont Street. He said he did not know how the killings had occurred but thought the killers were professionals because no shells or witnesses had been left. He went on to say that he heard the killings had occurred at 5 o'clock in the morning, that two men had knocked down the door, and that the men had taken $600. Later, defendant again spoke about how the people were killed. [A]fter the big guy knocked the door down, he went in the motel, and there was a guy laying on the couch, and he blew him away. Defendant said the man on the couch and a woman at the cash register were shot twice, and another woman was also shot. Garrett testified defendant told him he was the big guy. [4] Esther Garrett testified to essentially the same matters as her husband James. In addition to the admissions testified to by Mr. Garrett, Esther Garrett said defendant told them the killers were using the money to buy juice (PCP) and that the killers had picked up the bullets so there would be no evidence for the police. After her husband left, defendant told Mrs. Garrett he had committed the murder with his brother-in-law. George Oglesby, also known as Gunner, provided additional testimony. Oglesby was an inmate who was housed in the same cell block as defendant, a few cells away. [5] Oglesby testified that in late April defendant asked him about the chances of escaping from Atascadero or Patton, where he believed he might be sent. He later asked Oglesby if he wished to be included in an escape plan and Oglesby indicated he did. Defendant outlined a plan complete with drawings that involved escaping while being transferred from jail to court. According to the plan, as summarized by Oglesby, two people from the outside would disarm the officer driving the bus. Defendant also planned to kill a person on the bus who was to testify against him, as well as the two officers who would accompany the bus. Defendant later modified the plan to include blowing up the bus in order to prevent the authorities from quickly determining who had escaped. Oglesby received two notes from defendant, one stating that a female visitor was not the girlfriend who was to be involved in the escape and the second stating that a female visitor had a new shotgun for him. A few days after receiving the notes Oglesby told Lt. Fitzgerald what he knew about the escape. After talking to Lt. Fitzgerald, Oglesby again communicated with defendant about an escape. In one note defendant stated that someone on the outside had obtained dynamite for him. Another note asked whether they should delay their escape because his brother had been sentenced to three months for an earlier attempt to help him escape from jail. Oglesby testified he told defendant that it probably would be better to escape earlier rather than wait. In another note defendant asked whether they should escape at his next court appearance or try to go to the Los Angeles County Hospital and attempt an escape from there. Another note stated that Blackie was a heartbeat away from death and asked if Oglesby's wife had made arrangements to get weapons. In a subsequent note defendant suggested giving Oglesby's wife's phone number to his girlfriend, observed that his girlfriend had gotten a pump shotgun, and stressed his hope that Oglesby's wife had weapons. The note also directed Oglesby to phone his wife and make plans so she could arrange a meeting with a woman named Lynn to help with the escape. The first target date for the escape was June 12, 1979. The plan was aborted, however, because defendant had no way of arranging to get Oglesby to court at the same time. In addition, Oglesby testified that after one of defendant's court appearances, defendant told him he had to cancel the escape attempt because he believed two police vehicles were following the bus. He then altered the plan so the attempt would occur after they left court. In addition to relating the escape plans, Oglesby also testified defendant told him that he, Blackie, and two others had robbed a motel and had shot the people inside  a man, a woman and a child, possibly a daughter.