Murder trial of local man to last throughout week
By MICHAEL TITTINGER Daily Press Staff Writer
Jury selection began Monday in the murder trial of a Santa Monica man accused of robbing and stabbing to death a 59-year-old cab driver in the Oakwood section of Venice more than two and half years ago.
Antonio Barba, 24, is charged with one count of murder and one count of armed robbery in connection with the July 8, 2001, slaying of Keum Kim.
According to police, Barba hailed Kim’s cab at approximately 1:40 a.m. on the 1800 block of Santa Monica Boulevard. At some point during the drive to the 800 block of Brooks Avenue, just off Lincoln Boulevard, Barba allegedly stabbed the Korean man repeatedly with a knife and robbed him.
The crime was described as “heinous” by LAPD Pacific Division Captain Bill Williams at an Aug. 9, 2001, press conference, one week after Barba was apprehended.
Barba’s arrest came on the heels of a search in which saw the LA County Sheriff’s K-9 unit played a major role in tracking the then-21-year-old fugitive. The Santa Monica Police Department also played a part in assisting the LAPD Pacific Homicide Detectives Bob Vargas and Paul Inabu, who arrested Barba.
Barba, who lives on the 1800 block of 16th Street in the Pico neighborhood of Santa Monica, has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Dressed in a white dress shirt, blue pants and tie, Barba sat quietly throughout the day’s proceedings. He took time out periodically to offer a smile to the handful of family members in attendance in Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry’s courtroom. Among those showing their support for Barba, who is Hispanic, was his non-English speaking mother.
Shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, Judge Perry began explaining the circumstances of the case to the pool of 55 potential jurors that filed into the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center courtroom.
One by one, the potential jurors were led into the brightly lit, wood-grained courtroom, where they filled up virtually every seat and bench. Judge Perry seemed intent on discerning whether any of those in attendance had either been the victim of a violent robbery or the victim of a crime committed by a young Hispanic male, two key components that could affect their partiality in the case given Barba’s ethnicity and age.
Perry then gave way to the attorneys for jury questioning.
Earlier in the morning, Judge Perry began hearing motions in regards to the admissibility of specific evidence, specifically whether the jury will be permitted to listen to a series of taped jail house conversations between Barba and multiple visitors following when he was taken into custody.
The motions were tabled until after a jury for the trial had been selected, however, the question of government monitoring was obviously weighing heavy on their minds as they cross-examined the potential jurors in the case.
“I had hoped to ask the jurors a general question about government listening in, or the taping of jail house conversations, and how they felt about that,” Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Kendra Carmen, who is prosecuting the case, told Judge Perry before the jurors were brought in.
Barba’s public defender, Steven Fisher, argues that the conversations are too vague to be considered seriously as alluding to any actual event, especially the murder of Kim. Fisher expressed concern that any utterances of regret or self doubt on Barba’s part could be misconstrued and taken out of context to paint his client in a negative light.
Fisher also mentioned in passing that Barba had been a drug addict when he was taken into custody, and comments that appear in the jail house transcripts could be misconstrued as a confession instead of his talking about his addiction. LAPD also suspected Barba was an addict in August of 2001, but found no evidence of any gang involvement.
Opening arguments in the case are expected to get underway today, with the trial expected to last throughout the week. Judge Perry expressed hope that the jury could begin deliberating by Friday, and possibly Thursday.
The prosecution is not seeking the death penalty.
Originally scheduled to be held at the West District Airport Courthouse, the case was moved to the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center due to a scheduling conflict at LAX.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 27, 2004. Read the original PDF.