Smokin Joe
06-13-2004, 09:29 PM
For those who knew Mickey Thompson, this is good news.
Got it from Nitrogeezers.
June 8, 2004
PASADENA - The former business partner of Mickey Thompson was charged today with the murders of the auto racing icon and his wife, Trudy, in front of their Bradbury home in March 1988, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced.
Michael Frank Goodwin, 59 (dob 2-4-1945), was charged in case No. GA 052683 with two counts of murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple murders. The District Attorney's office will decide whether to seek the death penalty when the case is closer to trial.
The case was filed as an arrest warrant for Goodwin, currently in custody in Orange County, where he is being held without bail. His arraignment date in Pasadena Superior Court has not yet been determined.
Goodwin faced similar charges in Orange County, but that case recently was overturned on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal.
Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife were gunned down outside their home in the hillside San Gabriel Valley community as they were leaving for work early on March 16, 1988. Two men on bicycles were seen fleeing the area and as yet have not been identified. Goodwin, whose business relationship with Thompson went sour and dissolved into legal action, was a suspect. Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators discussed the case with Los Angeles County prosecutors and pursued various leads over several years.
Several prosecutors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office asked for additional investigation. The case never was formally presented for a filing in Los Angeles County, however.
About five years ago, Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators went to Orange County, where Goodwin lived in Dana Point, and presented the murder case to prosecutors there.
Orange County prosecutors filed the case against Goodwin in 2001 after discussions with Los Angeles County prosecutors, who assisted in getting the appellate court to order a live lineup for newly discovered witnesses.
When the California District Court of Appeal dismissed the Orange County case on jurisdictional grounds on April 23, it emphasized in the written opinion that any new evidence not previously considered by the Los Angeles District Attorney "can - and should - be given to the Los Angeles District Attorney for reconsideration..."
Head Deputy District Attorney Patrick Dixon of the Major Crimes Division and Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson, who works in that division, will prosecute the case.
Got it from Nitrogeezers.
June 8, 2004
PASADENA - The former business partner of Mickey Thompson was charged today with the murders of the auto racing icon and his wife, Trudy, in front of their Bradbury home in March 1988, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office announced.
Michael Frank Goodwin, 59 (dob 2-4-1945), was charged in case No. GA 052683 with two counts of murder with the special circumstances of lying in wait and multiple murders. The District Attorney's office will decide whether to seek the death penalty when the case is closer to trial.
The case was filed as an arrest warrant for Goodwin, currently in custody in Orange County, where he is being held without bail. His arraignment date in Pasadena Superior Court has not yet been determined.
Goodwin faced similar charges in Orange County, but that case recently was overturned on jurisdictional grounds by the California District Court of Appeal.
Thompson, 59, and his 41-year-old wife were gunned down outside their home in the hillside San Gabriel Valley community as they were leaving for work early on March 16, 1988. Two men on bicycles were seen fleeing the area and as yet have not been identified. Goodwin, whose business relationship with Thompson went sour and dissolved into legal action, was a suspect. Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators discussed the case with Los Angeles County prosecutors and pursued various leads over several years.
Several prosecutors in the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office asked for additional investigation. The case never was formally presented for a filing in Los Angeles County, however.
About five years ago, Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigators went to Orange County, where Goodwin lived in Dana Point, and presented the murder case to prosecutors there.
Orange County prosecutors filed the case against Goodwin in 2001 after discussions with Los Angeles County prosecutors, who assisted in getting the appellate court to order a live lineup for newly discovered witnesses.
When the California District Court of Appeal dismissed the Orange County case on jurisdictional grounds on April 23, it emphasized in the written opinion that any new evidence not previously considered by the Los Angeles District Attorney "can - and should - be given to the Los Angeles District Attorney for reconsideration..."
Head Deputy District Attorney Patrick Dixon of the Major Crimes Division and Deputy District Attorney Alan Jackson, who works in that division, will prosecute the case.