With motive still a mystery, judge moves L.A. Live homicide case to trial
A Los Angeles County judge ruled Thursday that prosecutors can proceed with murder charges against two men accused of killing a university administrator, despite authorities presenting no motive for the brazen homicide at L.A. Live.
Sidney Barrett Morris, 43, an official at Cal State Northridge, was eating dinner alone two years ago when a masked man shot him in the back of the head.
Prosecutors charged two men, Santana Kelly and Phillip Clark, with murder based on surveillance videos, phone records, jail calls and other evidence. They allege Clark was the shooter and that Kelly orchestrated the killing.
Read more: A 'well-orchestrated execution': Mystery surrounds school official's killing at L.A. Live
Lawyers for Kelly and Clark asked a judge to dismiss the case for lack of evidence, arguing prosecutors hadn't established a connection between their clients and Morris.
Deion Benjamin, Kelly's attorney, said prosecutors had proved only that his client helped destroy the getaway car, which would mean he was only an accessory.
"He's called to burn up the car, if you believe the evidence," he told Superior Court Judge David Herriford.
Clark's attorney said it was only a detective's "speculation" that his client was the masked gunman.
"It sounds like they have a theory," said Zino Osehobo, who represents Clark. "Without supporting, corroborative evidence."
Herriford disagreed, ruling he'd seen enough to allow the case to proceed.
The killing occurred on Nov. 28, 2023, when a white Ford Escape stopped along the curb near Fixins Soul Kitchen, a restaurant at L.A. Live.
The shooter was wearing a black tracksuit with white trim, a black balaclava and a baseball cap with the words 'No F— Given,' security video footage showed.
Los Angeles Police Department detectives identified Clark as the alleged shooter. They testified that Kelly was a conspirator, pointing to videos he filmed on his phone while allegedly casing Morris' apartment complex.
'I think it'd be better to get him on the other location, instead of this,' Kelly said in a video filmed a month before Morris was killed.
Police said other video footage showed Kelly giving the suspected shooter the "No F— Given' baseball cap and holding a wide-brimmed straw hat, later worn by the getaway driver, who has still not been identified.
The detectives said cellphone records showed Clark and Kelly's devices traveling after the homicide to Palmdale, where the getaway car was set on fire and abandoned.
Even after searching the suspects' phones, homes and cars and listening to their jail calls, Det. Martin Mojarro said authorities do not know of a motive.
"Not yet. I'm hoping," Mojarro said.
Clark and Kelly, who have maintained their innocence, will be arraigned June 5.
Times staff reporter Matthew Ormseth contributed to this report.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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