New Trial Sought in Local Murder Convictions
by Michelle Logsdon, Conejo Valley ExaminerAugust 21, 2002 marked the six year anniversary of their conviction under the felony murder rule. Four young men from Agoura Hills are hoping their latest legal avenue will give them all a shot at a new trial or reduced sentences.
In 1996, Brandon Hein, 19, Tony Miliotti, 17, and Jason Holland, 18, received life sentences without parole for their part in a drunken backyard brawl that ended in the stabbing death of another Agoura Hills teenager, 16-year-old Jimmy Farris. The fourth teen convicted in the murder was Micah Holland, Jason's brother. Holland, who was only 15 at the time of the crime, received a sentence of 25 years to life.
The group's lawyers have individually filed, or are in the process of filing, petitions to the California Supreme Court. The petitions request a hearing where the lawyers would argue the 1996 trial was unfair and unlawful.
"We want a new trial," said Aron Laub, Jason Holland's attorney. "The rules were broken in this case. The transcripts from the trial present to me a cynical, win-at-all-costs prosecution who went outside the bounds of the law to bring about a ruling through injustice."
At issue is the prosecution's attempts to classify the teenagers as a gang and the fact that Farris' father, Jim, was an LAPD police officer and may have had influence on the trial process and its participants.
On May 22, 1995, Jason and Micah Holland, Hein and Miliotti got drunk and called their friend Chris Velardo, 18, to drive them to McCloren's house to get some marijuana. McCloren was known to sell marijuana out of a plywood "fort" in his backyard.
McCloren told police Micah Holland came in the "fort" looking to steal drugs. A fight broke out and Jason Holland, Hein and Farris jumped into the fracas. Miliotti was standing in the doorway of the "fort" and Velardo was sitting in the truck.
Jason Holland admitted he used a pocketknife to stab McCloren and Farris who both fled into McCloren's home. The other boys claimed they didn't have knives and didn't know McCloren and Farris were stabbed until they had left the scene.
The prosecution convinced the jury to convict all of the teenagers under the felony murder rule. The provision allows for harsher penalties when a murder is committed during the commission of a dangerous felony.
People across the country, including some Hollywood and political heavyweights, believe the punishments doled out to these young men were cruel and unusual.
Farris' mother Judie still grieves almost as strongly today as the day her son died. She said the jury did their job correctly at the first trial. "I'm in so much pain I don't even know what punishment they deserve. My pain for Jimmy outweighs even thinking about them."
The California Supreme Court could take up to nine months to act on the petitions. Hein's lawyer, William J. Genego, said it is not uncommon for hearings to be denied. Should the high court deny the hearings the lawyers will petition the federal court. If those petitions are denied, the only chance Miliotti, Hein or Holland has of a reduced sentence is a commutation from the governor. During his tenure, Governor Gray Davis has never granted a pardon or commutation.
Copyright 2002 Conejo Valley Examiner, Used by Permission.
