COCAINE RING IS BLAMED IN SLAYING OF VENICE ACTIVIST

Crime: Two Murder Suspects Now In Custody Are Among Those Named In Federal
Indictment.

A violent cocaine ring that stretched from the Venice Shoreline Crips to
associates in Atlanta and Baltimore was responsible for the killing of
Venice community activist James Richards almost 17 months ago, according to
Los Angeles police and a federal indictment released Tuesday.

Two murder suspects are in custody on charges related to the killing. A
total of 22 people have been indicted on federal narcotics-related charges
connected to the investigation of the case.

Richards, 55, was shot in front of his home in the Oakwood section of
Venice in the early morning hours of Oct. 18, 2000. His death was quickly
labeled an assassination by people close to the case. The federal
indictment supports that assessment, saying the conspirators killed
Richards because they believed he "was reporting their narcotics activities
to law enforcement."

The indictment alleges that Maurice Brown, a suspect in the case who is in
federal custody, and his associates were involved in a national cocaine
distribution ring using a music company as a cover for some of their
operations. The conspirators traveled by plane and strapped cocaine to
their legs, the indictment alleges.

The indictment chronicles telephone calls between the alleged members of
the conspiracy in which they discussed killing people who they believed
were cooperating with law enforcement. It also says that the conspirators
chatted about putting plastic on the floor of the music company's offices
to make sure bloodstains would not ruin things.

Richards was the publisher of Neighborhood News, an online newsletter that
dealt with the area's crime problems, and was known for listening
assiduously to police scanners, sometimes arriving on crime scenes before
police.

A member of several police-affiliated community groups and a Neighborhood
Watch block captain, Richards was said to sometimes go so far as to take
photographs of drug deals as they were happening. Shortly before his death,
officers had warned him to "lie low," police said.

Richards' methods were sometimes controversial, but his death provoked a
strong community reaction. The murder was investigated by the Los Angeles
Police Department and a multi-agency task force that has been examining
drug dealing in the neighborhood. The task force included investigators
from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Internal Revenue Service and Los
Angeles Port Police.

So far in the case, Los Angeles police have arrested one of the suspected
killers. Byron Lopez was arrested Feb. 26 on suspicion of teaming with
rival gang members to kill Richards. Lopez is also being held on suspicion
of murdering Juan Martinez, 21, in the 3300 block of Beethoven Street in
the Venice area about two months after Richards was killed, LAPD officials
said.

The 23-year-old man was charged with two counts of murder and one count
involving possession of a firearm by a felon on Feb. 28, said Sandi
Gibbons, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney. His
arraignment has been continued to March 25.

The second suspect, Brown, was identified in an indictment issued in
September as among several people who shot Richards, according to federal
officials.

Brown, whose age was not disclosed, is also facing a number of narcotics
and weapons charges in connection with the conspiracy case.

The case is scheduled to go to trial in April, said Thom Mrozek, spokesman
for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles.

A third suspect in Richards' murder, Antwon Jones, is dead, the LAPD
said--killed last April in an unrelated gang assault in West Los Angeles.

Authorities said they would announce Brown's arrest at a news conference today.