Man pleads not guilty to killings in Santa Monica and Hollywood
A 26-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to the January killings of an elderly man in Santa Monica and a homeless man in Hollywood, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Roy Antonio Davis, a black man, has been charged with two counts of murder and one count of first-degree burglary, prosecutors said. The charges include the special circumstance allegations that the Santa Monica slaying was committed during the commission of a burglary as well as the allegation of multiple murders.
On Jan. 1, John Hautz, 88, was found dead inside his Santa Monica apartment with multiple injuries, police previously told The Times.
Prosecutors said Hautz was killed with a pick ax. Inside the home, police found an opened bedroom window with the screen removed.
Twelve days later, Kenneth Allen Schmitt, 28, was found dead outside a nightclub with stab wounds in the 5900 block of Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood.
Workers at the nightclub first thought Schmitt was sleeping and covered him with a blanket. Later in the day, when they noticed he hadn’t moved and they spotted blood, they called 911.
Davis pleaded not guilty to the charges March 12 and is due back in court June 5.
Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @nicolesantacruz and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.
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