Allegations of violence On August 6, 1974, Kathleen Smith, a 17-year-old Oakland native, as shot!

she died three months later" According to the #rosecutor handling the case,$%&' (e ton shot Smith after a casual e)change on the street during hich she referred to him as *+a,y*, a childhood nickname he hated" -earson alleges that shortly after the killing, hile staying ith film #roducer +ert Schneider in +everly .ills, (e ton referred to the Smith killing as his *first non-#olitical murder"* $%1' .e as arrested on murder charges, then released for lack of evidence" (e ton is also alleged to have assaulted his tailor, -reston /allins, after /allins called him *+a,y*" (e ton #osted ,ond after ,eing arrested for #istol- hi##ing /allins" (e ton as su,se0uently arrested a second time for the murder of Smith, ,ut as a,le to #ost an additional 12&,&&& ,ond, thus securing his release until trial" (e ton and his girlfriend 3later his ife4 5 en 6ontaine then fled to .avana, /u,a, here they lived until 1977,$%7' hich #revented further #rosecution on the t o charges" 8laine +ro n took over as chair#erson of the +lack -anther -arty in his a,sence"$%%' (e ton returned to the 9nited States in 1977 to stand trial for the murder of Smith and the assault on /allins" :n Octo,er 1977 three +lack -anthers attem#ted to assassinate /rystal 5ray, a key #rosecution itness in (e ton;s u#coming trial ho had ,een #resent the day of Kathleen Smith<s murder" 9n,ekno nst to the assailants, they attacked the rong house and the occu#ant returned fire" =uring the shootout one of the -anthers, >ouis ?ohnson, as killed and the other t o assailants esca#ed"$%4' One of the t o surviving assassins, 6lores 6or,es, fled to >as @egas, (evada, ith the hel# of -anther #aramedic (elson Aalloy" 6earing that Aalloy ould discover the truth ,ehind the ,otched assassination attem#t, (e ton allegedly ordered a Bhouse cleaningC, and Aalloy as shot and ,uried alive in the desert" Although #ermanently #aralyDed from the aist do n, Aalloy recovered from the assault and told #olice that fello -anthers Eollin Eeid and Allen >e is ere ,ehind his attem#ted murder"$%F' (e ton denied any involvement or kno ledge and said the events Bmight have ,een the result of overDealous #arty mem,ersC"$%&' =uring (e ton;s trial for assaulting -reston /allins, /allins changed his testimony several times and eventually told the Gury that he did not kno ho assaulted him" (e ton as ac0uitted of the assault in Se#tem,er 1972, ,ut as convicted on t o counts of illegal firearms #ossession" After t o trials and t o deadlocked Guries, the #rosecution decided not to retry (e ton for Smith<s murder"$%6'