Alleged getaway driver seeks separate trial in barbershop killing
The woman charged with serving as the getaway driver following a killing last year at a Pomona barbershop is seeking to separate her case from two co-defendants.
An attorney for Breeana Finley, 20, said Friday that the Los Angeles woman's case should be "severed" because a jury would be prejudiced by hearing evidence pertaining specifically to her co-defendants -- Omari Ali, 21, and Keyon Rasheed Hill, 19.
Prosecutors accuse Ali and Hill of shooting and killing barber Larry Hammett of Ontario on July 27, 2008 in the course of a robbery attempt at Groom Time All Star Barbers in the 900 block of East Holt Avenue in Pomona.
Finley drove Ali and Hill to the barbershop, and waited in a nearby alley with the engine running during the killing. Ali and Hill left the area in Finley's car after the shooting.
All three defendants re-entered not-guilty pleas to murder charges Thursday in Pomona Superior Court, and the group is due back in court Sept. 4 for a pre-trial hearing.
Finley's motion to be severed from Ali and Hill is set to be heard Aug. 14. Duane Dade, Finley's defense attorney, said he expects prosecutors to oppose his motion.
Dade said Finley was told by Ali and Hill that they were going to Groom Time to get haircuts. She did not know that Ali or Hill had planned a robbery or shooting, Dade said.
Reached this morning, Deputy District Attorney Ian Phan said he would not disclose why Finley is set to return to court prior to Ali and Hill.
Phan has not returned a follow-up message left this afternoon seeking a response to Dade's statements about his motion to sever Finley's case from Ali and Hill.
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At the time of Hammett's death, Finley was dating Ali, Dade said in an interview this afternoon.
The Los Angeles couple was thinking of moving in together, and they drove together in Finley's car to Pomona the morning of July 27 to look at low-income apartments in the city, Dade said.
At some point that morning they met up with Hill, a friend of Ali's who resides somewhere in the Pomona area, Dade said.
Ali and Hill told Finley they wanted to get haircuts at Groom Time, Dade said, and she drove them there and parked in a nearby alley planning to do homework while the men got haircuts.
Finley, a nursing student, kept her car's engine running so that she could use her car's air conditioner on the hot summer day, Dade said.
"It's my position that she has no culpability," Dade said. "She drove the car. All she knew was the boys were getting haircuts."
Finley never saw Ali and Hill with guns, and she was never told by Ali or Hill that they were planning a robbery or shooting, Dade said.
Shortly after Ali and Hill left the car for the barbershop, Finley heard gunshots and saw people running from the barbershop, Dade said.
When Ali and Hill ran to the car Finley said she did not see guns, and there was no discussion among the group that Ali and Hill were responsible for the shooting at the barbershop, Dade said.
When Finley was arrested and interviewed by Pomona police detectives, she told them she did not know a robbery or shooting was planned, or that Ali and Hill were responsible for the shots fired, Dade said.
Dade said prosecutors do not have any statements that indicate Finley had prior knowledge of the robbery or shooting.
Dade said prosecutors have not offered Finley a plea bargain, but they may in the future depending on whether her case is severed from Ali and Hill's.
Click here to read a story on testimony from Finley, Ali and Hill's preliminary hearing in January.
I hope they don't give that b**** a deal she knew wut they were planning and she was the getaway driver..this wasn't the first time she was the getaway driver for those ruthless cowardly killers its just the first time she got caught..they need to put her to death with tha rest of her conspiring crew..you'll always b missed Larry rip folks