By Stephen Oduntan
Contributing Writer
LOS ANGELES — Berry Le’Mar Henderson was walking along Hollywood Boulevard in May, carrying a yellow bag when a dog lunged toward him.
Surveillance video played in court Sept. 15 showed Henderson initially grabbing the dog by its collar. Moments later, the encounter spilled across Hollywood Boulevard, with the dog pursuing Henderson as he ran and several men following close behind.
By the time it was over, Henderson had been beaten and stabbed repeatedly.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Shelly Torrealba ordered all four men charged in Henderson’s killing to stand trial for murder, rejecting defense arguments that the evidence supported lesser charges.
“The totality of these circumstances,” Torrealba said, showed the defendants were “acting in concert, whether preplanned or not.”
Torrealba also ordered Isaul Hernandez back into custody, increasing his bail from $100,000 to $1 million.
Patrick Randall Perry, 55; Robert Anthony Garcia, 33; Hernandez, 36; and Bruce Lamont Fuller Jr., 30, have pleaded not guilty.
A security guard who witnessed part of the confrontation testified that he heard a loud commotion and saw several men attacking Henderson from roughly 30 feet away. Henderson appeared to have his hands up, the guard said. He also recorded part of the encounter on his cellphone.
Other portions of the confrontation were captured by security cameras.
LAPD Detective Allen Hsiao, one of the lead investigators, walked the court through footage showing Henderson casually walking along Hollywood Boulevard carrying the yellow bag before the confrontation. He did not appear to be interacting with anyone.
Another angle captured Henderson putting the bag down as the dog lunged toward him. Henderson eventually pulled a knife from his shorts and stabbed the dog.
Asked whether any footage showed Henderson pointing the knife at another person, Hsiao said no.
But the cameras did not capture everything.
For approximately 18 seconds, Henderson was outside their view. The recordings had no audio, leaving investigators unable to say what he or the others may have said during that period.
Under cross-examination, Hsiao acknowledged investigators had uncovered no evidence of a planned attack.
“There was no plan, from my opinion,” he said. “It was a spontaneous thing.”
Garcia’s attorney pointed to footage showing him approach the confrontation, stop and turn away before eventually returning. Hsiao also acknowledged Garcia told investigators he became involved after learning the dog had been stabbed.
Hernandez’s attorney focused on a close-up showing him throw an object, retrieve it and return to the confrontation. Under cross-examination, the detective agreed that the footage showed Hernandez strike Henderson once somewhere between the shoulder and head before backing away and appearing to restrain the injured dog.
Fuller’s attorney argued there was no evidence his client knew the other men beforehand, participated in the initial confrontation or knew Henderson had been stabbed when he became involved.
Perry’s attorney argued that the encounter escalated after Henderson stabbed the dog and urged the court to consider whether heat of passion undercut the murder charge.
Deputy District Attorney Daniel Ilacqua countered that the videos, taken together, showed Henderson repeatedly trying to get away while the dog and several men pursued him.
“At no point was there evidence presented that the victim used the knife against any person,” Ilacqua told the court.
After Henderson crossed Hollywood Boulevard, Ilacqua argued, the men cornered him and continued the attack. He said Perry stabbed Henderson in the back while others beat him, at one point leaving Henderson on the ground “with his hands raised trying to protect himself.”
Other testimony established what police found when they arrived.
LAPD Officer Ryan Greene said responding officers first went to Henderson before he was directed across the street, where he encountered Perry on the ground with the injured dog. An anxious crowd was asking officers to get the animal medical attention, he said.
About six feet from Perry and the dog, Greene found an open silver knife on the sidewalk with blood on it.
The medical examiner found more than 21 sharp-force injuries, including stab wounds and lacerations, according to testimony. Henderson died from multiple sharp-force injuries, with blunt-force trauma to the head listed as a significant contributing factor. His death was ruled a homicide.
Judge Torrealba ultimately sided with prosecutors on the central question of whether the men’s actions could be considered together.
“The totality of these circumstances,” she said, showed the four defendants were “acting in concert, whether preplanned or not.”
She found they aided and abetted one another and acted with conscious disregard for Henderson’s life.
The judge then turned to Hernandez, who had entered court free after previously posting $100,000 bail.
His attorney returned to the detective’s testimony that Hernandez could be seen striking Henderson once.
Torrealba disagreed with that characterization.
“The video does show him striking the victim multiple times,” she said, also pointing to evidence that Hernandez chased Henderson “in concert” with Garcia.
Torrealba increased his bail to $1 million and ordered him back into custody.
“God heard our prayers,” Henderson’s cousin Demeya Brewer said outside the courtroom.
Brewer said the family had particularly wanted Hernandez returned to custody.
“There’s no way this guy should be walking the streets,” she said.
Brewer’s mother and Henderson’s mother were sisters. She said she took time away from work to attend the hearing and intends to continue supporting Henderson’s family as the case proceeds.
“He did not deserve this,” Brewer said.
The defendants are scheduled to return to court Oct. 2 for a new arraignment.
Stephen Oduntan is a freelance writer for Wave Newspapers.
