Two men were ordered Thursday to stand trial for the shooting death of a diner in what authorities say was an apparently targeted attack at a restaurant at L.A. Live.
Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge David Herriford rejected a motion by defense attorneys to dismiss the case against Phillip Pasco Clark, 35, of Los Angeles, and Santana Jermaine Kelly, 51, of Palmdale.
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Herriford said he believed the prosecution had "established sufficient cause" to allow the case against the two to proceed to trial.
Clark and Kelly -- who have remained behind bars since their arrests in March 2024 -- are charged with one count each of murder and conspiracy to commit a crime in connection with the Nov. 28, 2023, slaying of Sidney Barrett Morris in the Fixins Soul Kitchen at 800 W. Olympic Blvd.
Kelly is also facing an arson charge.
"We don't know what the motive is," Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Chung told the judge as the hearing drew to an end, referring to the killing as an "assassination."
Clark allegedly walked into the restaurant and straight to the 43-year- old victim as he ate at the counter and fatally shot him at about 6:15 p.m. that night, then fled in a vehicle driven by a person whose identity has not been determined, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said last year after the case was filed.
Kelly allegedly helped to plan the killing and provided supplies and support and allegedly set fire to the getaway vehicle a day later in an attempt to destroy evidence, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Los Angeles Police Department Assistant Chief Blake Chow told reporters at a news conference last year that "all indications are that Mr. Morris was targeted as a victim, not the victim of (a) random act of violence."
Clark's attorney, Zino Osehobo, argued during the hearing that the evidence against his client was "speculative."
Kelly's attorney, Deion Benjamin, told the judge that cellphone evidence proved that his client was not at the scene of the killing and that there was no evidence that he was involved with the alleged conspiracy.
The prosecutor countered that he believed the evidence is "clear that Mr. Clark is the shooter."
Chung said cellphone records place the other defendant, Kelly, in the area of the complex where the victim lived about a month before the slaying, saying that it indicates he was "doing surveillance of the victim."
Clark and Kelly are due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom for arraignment June 5.
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