claiming the two men may have been working together. Though the victim only saw one kidnapper, at one point she said the kidnapper threatened to kill her and burn down her house, and referenced two accomplices.
In addition, prosecutors pointed to three eyewitnesses who picked Harris out of a photo lineup. The three witnesses were a next-door neighbor who chased off the kid-napper with a gun, a nearby resident who saw the kidnap-per strip off his shirt while fleeing the scene and the victim, who picked Harris along with two other people in the photo lineup as possibly the person who assaulted her.
Authorities said the shirt the kidnapper left as he fled the scene also contained Taylor’s DNA. A glove was found at the victim’s home that investigators believed belonged to the kidnapper, but no DNA was recovered from it.
Harris remained in custody in lieu of $1.44 million bail. The bail was set high partly because Harris had a criminal record, including a conviction for stealing from a family member last year. Despite that history, two of Harris’ sisters at a recent court hearing said Harris had begun living a clean and sober life. Weeks before his arrest, he had taken out one of the sister’s children and bought them gifts, and he planned to go to the other sister’s house for Thanksgiving, the sisters said.
Two live police lineups were conducted this week to see if the eyewitnesses would tie Taylor to the kidnap-pings. In the first lineup, Taylor stood in a line with five inmates. In the second lineup, Harris stood with five different inmates.
None of the witnesses picked Harris. The elderly victim identified Taylor, and the other witnesses picked different prisoners, lawyers said.
“He is and always was innocent,” said Matt Huey, Harris’ public defender, at the Friday hearing. “It highlights the problem with the photo identification, because when these witnesses got the chance to actually see these people live, the correct person was identified and the innocent person was excluded.”
Asked if any explanation had been offered for how the police hounds ended up at Harris’ room, Huey replied, “Not that I’m aware of — and it’s awfully hard to cross examine a dog.”
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Donna Lebowitz told the court prosecutors were unable to proceed because of factual weaknesses in the case. She later declined to say if Harris remained a suspect or when charges might be pressed against Taylor.
“If they bring a case in and file it, then we’ll review it,” she said outside the courtroom. “Right now, on this evidence, I am unable to proceed.”
While prosecutors decide whether to build a case against Taylor, Harris was expected to spend Friday night with his family for the first time in nearly two months. Joyce Harris, Harris’ sister and one of five relatives and friends who attended the Friday hearing, said she was anxious to have him back.
“He’s going home,” said Harris, a 40-year-old judge’s assistant. “He’s going home with me. Tell them all — he’s going home.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 8, 2005. Read the original PDF.