Aunt Testifies In James Wilson Murder Hearing (Pasadena,CA)
Millhaven
Aunt takes stand at hearing
By Molly R. Okeon Staff Writer
Article Launched: 03/28/2007 11:53:11 PM PDT
LOS ANGELES - Muriel Clark received a call from her nephew James
Wilson almost two years ago, telling her he needed his "auntie" to get
rid of his car, Clark testified in court Wednesday.
"I just killed `50,"' Clark said she recalled Wilson saying, referring
to his 16-year-old prot g , Frank Mitchell of Pasadena. Mitchell's
friends called him "50" because they said he looked like the rapper 50
Cent.
Clark, 48, of Ontario, testified against her nephew Wednesday in a
preliminary hearing in Los Superior Court to determine if Wilson, 32,
and Rodney Fletcher, 25, both of Pasadena, will stand trial for
Mitchell's murder and a slew of other charges.
Clark has pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact, a felony, and
agreed to testify for the prosecution as part of a plea agreement,
Deputy District Attorney Marian Thompson said.
Mitchell's body, strangled and naked, was found in an alley in the 700
block of East Mountain Street in Pasadena on July 26, 2005.
The discovery came just two weeks after Pasadena police said Mitchell
confided to his parents that he had been sexually assaulted numerous
times by Wilson, and Mitchell's parents confronted Wilson.
Authorities say both the killing
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and the way the body was found were a warning to others against
speaking out against Wilson; police have said they believe Wilson had
been raping and threatening young men for months.
Wilson, known in the community as a charismatic leader and anti-gang
advocate, has two previous convictions for assault with a deadly
weapon. He was a mentor to Mitchell, who had previous run-ins with the
law but wanted to help others, his friends and family have said.
Wilson and Fletcher were charged in January with one count of murder
with special circumstances in Mitchell's death. The two men are being
held without bail.
Wilson is also charged with 12 counts of forcible rape, three counts
of conspiracy to commit murder, three counts of assault with a deadly
weapon, carjacking and conspiracy to commit arson.
Fletcher also faces charges of carjacking, assault, conspiracy to
commit arson and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder.
Both men could face the death penalty.
Wilson's aunt was arrested in January 2006, along with four others on
charges of accessory to murder and conspiracy to commit arson. Police
said Clark and others were planning to destroy Wilson's brown
Oldsmobile Cutlass, the car Fletcher allegedly used to take Mitchell's
body to the alley in Northwest Pasadena.
Wilson's defense attorney Amy Jacks worked to tear down Clark's
credibility Wednesday, noting that she has been convicted of at least
five felonies, including second-degree burglary and forgery.
Clark testified that Wilson gave her a gun to hold on to a few days
before police raided Clark's Ontario home. Police did not find the
weapon until later.
Clark told Thompson on the stand that she lied to police at first,
telling them she didn't know anything about any guns because she was
"scared."
Clark testified that Wilson called her from jail to ask what police
had seized from her home, and asked her to get rid of a rug from her
back room without saying why.
Jacks pointed out, and Clark confirmed, that Clark used fake names and
social security numbers to avoid police because she was addicted to
rock cocaine and knew she had a warrant out for her arrest.
The preliminary hearing will continue April 23.
