Special circumstance allegation added to Baldwin Park man’s murder charge in South LA slaying
Collins is accused of killing his 53-year-old girlfriend, Fatima Johnson, who was found in July 2021 by her daughters — bound, gagged and wrapped in a blanket — in her apartment in the 7600 block of South Western Avenue.Collins was charged with murder, but the case only included allegations that he had two prior convictions — one in 1992 for attempted robbery and one in 1998 for a double murder.
The case was one of several cited by organizers of a recall effort against Gascón, who announced when he took office that he would no longer file special-circumstance allegations that can lead to no-parole prison terms or death sentences. Critics said the lack of such an allegation meant that Collins would again be eligible for eventual parole if convicted.
But the District Attorney’s Office announced this week that a review of the case by an Alternative Charging Evaluation Committee prompted prosecutors to amend the case against Collins, adding a special-circumstance allegation of having a previous first-degree murder conviction. Adding the allegation means Collins is now facing a possible sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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