Crime & Safety

Long Beach Pair Charged in MedPot Slaying

The two men were arraigned Monday on murder charges in the March 2011 fatal shooting of a deliveryman of medical marijuana to L.A. collectives. Robbery was thought to be a possible motive.

Two Long Beach men were charged in court Monday with the March 24, 2011 murder of a medical marijuana deliveryman who was found wounded behind Pine Avenue and later died, police said.

Kenneth Ray Johnson, 36,  and Charles Anthony Mackbee, 42, both of Long Beach, were arrested without a scuffle at approximately 10:00 a.m. Thursday at their homes. They were charged with the murder nearly a year ago of Phillip Victor Williamson, 29, of Los Angeles. Williamson was discovered wounded at about 10:25 p.m. last March 24 in the alley of the 1500 block of Pine Avenue, according to the Long Beach police Department. He was taken to a hospital where he died the following night.

"Victim Williamson, who was not known to frequent Long Beach, was shot shortly before being found in the alley by a passerby. Investigators discovered that the victim was involved in the distribution of marijuana, which he obtained in the city of Chico, to medical marijuana collectives in the Los Angeles County area. Based on the investigation, detectives believe this murder was orchestrated for the purpose of robbing the victim," Monday's press release stated.

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Williamson was carrying nearly $500,000 on him as well as seven pounds of marijuana at the time he was attacked, police said then.

Patch has reported the story the same day it received the arrest information from Long Beach Police Department, which issued a press release about the case at 4:50 p.m. The 4.5-day delay between arrest and announcement was not explained.

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Previously in the case, Rosemary Sayegh, 32, and her husband, 29-year-old Marcel Maurice Mackabee, both of Granada Hills, were taken into custody in late July and their arrests were announced in August.

But the L.A. District Attorney's Office surprised the courtroom in November when it had to release Sayegh. The D.A. could not meet the statutory time limit for the trial against Sayegh, Shiara Davila, a Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman, told the Press Telegram. The charge was dismissed with the possibility of refiling it later.

 

Sayegh had been booked into the Central Regional Detention Facility for murder and was being held in lieu of $500,000, pending a court appearance, according to sheriff's jail records at the time.

Mackabee was booked into the Inmate Reception Center and was being held in lieu of $1 million bail pending court hearings.

He is the cousin of Charles Anthony Mackabee, who was charged Monday with one county of murder, Long Beach Police Department said in a press statemet. It made no note of Sayegh's release or her husband's custody status.

"As the investigation progressed, two individuals were arrested in July of 2011 in connection with the case, but additional suspects were still sought," the press release continued.

"On Thursday, March 1, 2012, detectives on the Long Beach Police Department’s Career Criminal Apprehension Team arrested two more suspects in connection with the murder. Kenneth Ray Johnson, 36 years old, and 42-year-old Charles Anthony Mackbee, both Long Beach residents, were arrested at approximately 10:00 a.m. at their homes without incident. Charles Anthony Mackabee and suspect Marcel Mackabee are cousins.

On Monday, March 5, 2012, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Suspect Johnson and Suspect Mackbee  each with one count of murder."

Anyone who may have information on this case is asked to contact Homicide Detectives Scott Lasch and Donald Goodman at (562) 570-7244.  Anonymous tips may also be submitted via text or web by visiting www.tipsoft.com.


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