Photo by Alexander Nguyen
A second reputed gang member has been charged in connection with the killing of a 67-year-old Montrose woman who was allegedly followed home last month.
James Wesley Trotter, 21, of Long Beach, and co-defendant Devon T. White, 20, of Lynwood are scheduled for their next court hearing Sept. 21 for allegedly following Hye Soon Oh home from her business in Lynwood on Aug. 8, according to Deputy District Attorney Amy Ashvanian.
Oh was robbed and shot to death in the parking garage of the apartment building where she lived, the prosecutor said.
It’s not clear why the woman was killed in the robbery attempt, nor was it disclosed if the robbers got away with any valuables.
Trotter and White pleaded not guilty Wednesday to one count each of murder and second-degree robbery in the Aug. 8 shooting of Hye Soon Oh, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of a robbery, along with a gang allegation against both defendants and an allegation that White personally and intentionally discharged a handgun causing Oh’s death.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against the two, who are also charged with one count each of possession of a firearm by a felon.
White — described as a convicted felon on probation — was arrested Aug. 17 by Glendale police. The criminal complaint alleges that White was convicted in 2015 of possession for sale of cocaine base.
Trotter was taken into custody two weeks later, according to jail records. The criminal complaint alleges that Trotter was free on bail or his own recognizance at the time in another case, and that he has prior convictions for second-degree robbery and grand theft from the person of another in 2015 and pay for purpose of prostitution in 2014.
Both men are being held without bail.
The two are due back in a Pasadena courtroom Sept. 21, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to require them to stand trial.
—City News Service
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