Slayer's plot to kill local judge foiled
Lifer gave orders from prison
prosecutor, detective also targeted
J. Harry JonesSTAFF WRITER
Published: June 6, 2000
A plot hatched by a murderer in prison to kill a Superior Court judge, a prosecutor and a sheriff's detective involved in his conviction has been thwarted with the arrest of two San Diego men, authorities say.
The plan was orchestrated by the killer, serving a term of life without the possibility of parole for the 1998 murder of a La Mesa liquor store clerk in one of a string of robberies across the county, officials said.
The details were confirmed yesterday by high-ranking law enforcement officials who asked not to be identified while a quickly organized multiagency investigation continues.
Authorities said they were so concerned about the threat that the prosecutor was moved out of his home and 24-hour security was arranged for the judge.
Officials said there also apparently was an attempt to kill an informant in the case while he was testifying at the trial in which the murderer, Marquell Smith, a Skyline-area gang member, was convicted.
At that time, fellow gang members managed to smuggle weapons past a metal detector at the San Diego County Courthouse before they were scared off by a District Attorney's investigator who became suspicious and summoned help, authorities said. The authorities said the plot was revealed to detectives last Thursday by another informant, who provided detailed information about plans to kill Deputy District Attorney Michael Groch, Judge John Thompson and former sheriff's Detective Jim Piscitelli. Piscitelli was recently promoted to the rank of sergeant.
Smith, 24, was sentenced April 4 by Thompson to life without the possibility of parole, plus an additional 206 years, for a series of robberies and the murder of 19-year-old Adrian Garmo, a college student who was killed during a holdup of his family's liquor store.
Groch, who authorities said was the primary target of the murder plot, was the prosecutor in the case and Piscitelli was the lead investigator.
The informant told detectives that Smith had ordered the murders of all three men, according to authorities, and said that several members of the Skyline-area street gang recently gathered in a motel and watched a videotape of Groch to familiarize themselves with what he looked like.
Where they got the tape is under investigation.
While they watched the tape, the informant told detectives, Smith was on a speaker phone calling from Donovan State Prison explaining how the judge, prosecutor and detective were to be killed.
Search warrants served on Friday and over the weekend at various unidentified locations netted evidence corroborating the informant's information, officials said.
The informant also told detectives that one of the men involved in the plot killed Lashana Latrice Newman, 18, a transient with a record of prostitution convictions. Her body was found dumped near Dictionary Hill in Spring Valley on April 11 in what sheriff's deputies have listed as an unsolved homicide.
On Saturday night, San Diego police arrested Aswad Walker, 23, in the case. Because he is being held without bail on a parole violation, authorities said they do not have to immediately file charges in a case they said is still under investigation.
On Sunday afternoon, Toney Barton, 37, was taken into custody on a drug charge. His bail was set at $1 million.
Assistant District Attorney Greg Thompson said yesterday he could not comment on the investigation other than to say, "It is extraordinarily serious and the DA is taking it that way."
Officials confirmed that the investigation is still under way and that other gang members may be involved.
The informant also told authorities about the earlier plan to silence the key witness against Smith.
The informant said that during Smith's trial, a group of gang members went to the San Diego courthouse to kill the informant, and were able to sneak weapons past the main security checkpoint and then walk, armed, to Thompson's courtroom.
However, a District Attorney's investigator noticed the gang members milling about in the hallway and called sheriff's deputies, who contacted some of the men. Some of the gang members were arrested on outstanding warrants, but others escaped.
The informant told detectives the plan was for some of the men to create a diversion in the hallway while two others went into the courtroom and killed the witness.
"This is a disturbing reminder of the type of people we're working to keep off the streets," Groch said last night. "This seems like a clear-cut conspiracy to commit murder.
Groch said he has no immediate plans to return to his home.
"I will be out of the house for the foreseeable future," he said.
Groch said he feels safe talking about what has happened "because of the amazing response of the Police Department, my office, and the Sheriff's Department. Because of that I really do feel comfortable and in good hands."