Jury deliberates in 1979 murder case Attorneys...

Jury deliberates in 1979 murder case

Attorneys began closing statements in the trial of James Lee

Crummel, who is accused of murdering a 13-year-old boy who

disappeared 25 years ago while walking to his Costa Mesa school.

The 60-year-old man, already serving a life sentence for sexually

abusing a teenager in his Newport Crest condo, will face the death

penalty if found guilty of murdering Jamey Trotter.

Prosecutors say they have shown evidence of Crummel’s long history

of pedophilia. But the defense has argued that despite Crummel’s

infamous past, he did not kill Jamey and that the prosecution’s case

was strung together on assumptions based on his past. Crummel

reportedly led police to Jamey’s charred remains that were scattered

in a remote area off the Ortega Freeway.

Jamey disappeared on April 19, 1979, reportedly on his way to

school in Costa Mesa. He was walking from a motel near the corner of

Harbor Boulevard and Victoria Street where he was supposed to have

taken a bus to Gisler Middle School. There was no trace of Jamey

until his dental records and braces were matched with the remains

that Crummel led police to in Riverside County.

The jury may begin deliberating today after attorneys complete

their closing statements.

Newport man charged with conspiracy

Federal officials on Tuesday charged a 65-year-old Newport Beach

resident, a former engineer for Boeing, in two separate conspiracies

involving the theft of trade secrets from rival Lockheed Martin

Corp., which was competing with Boeing to secure a U.S. Air Force

rocket contract, officials said.

Prosecutors accused Larry Satchell of conspiring to steal trade

secrets, violating the Procurement Integrity Act and obstruction of

justice. A U.S. magistrate judge in Los Angeles issued an arrest

warrant for Satchell, who is expected to surrender himself to federal

authorities Thursday, officials said.

They say Satchell plotted with two former Boeing engineers --

Kenneth Branch and William Erskine -- who were charged last year with

conspiracy. Branch, who had left Lockheed to work for Boeing,

allegedly brought with him information about a multibillion-dollar,

satellite-launching project the two companies were competing for,

officials said.

Boeing’s satellite-launching program was based in Huntington

Beach. In 1998, Boeing and Lockheed submitted bids for 28 U.S. Air

Force contracts worth about $2 billion, of which 19 contracts went to

Boeing, officials said.

The indictment alleges that Branch gave information about

Lockheed’s presentation to Erskine in exchange for a job at Boeing.

If convicted, Satchell faces up to 25 years in federal prison.