25-Year Term for Murder of Neighbor

VAN NUYS —  A Winnetka man convicted of fatally shooting the husband of a Neighborhood Watch captain after a heated argument last summer was sentenced to 25 years to life in state prison Wednesday.

Superior Court Judge Darlene E. Schempp ordered Scott James Craft, 34, to serve 15 years to life for his second-degree murder conviction, plus 10 years for using a firearm.

Schempp also ordered Craft to pay restitution of $10,000 to Kathy Brown, the widow of Keith Brown, who was 42 when he died.

The husky Craft, who claimed self-defense in the slaying, sat quietly, wearing blue Los Angeles County jail clothes during the proceedings.

Kathy Brown, the victim’s aunt and a family friend addressed the court before sentence was imposed. Other friends and relatives filled the courtroom.

“My life was destroyed,” Kathy Brown told the judge. “This is a senseless act performed by an evil, deranged, vicious man.”

Brown, choking back tears, told how her 6-year-old son, Koby, misses his father. Koby Brown has been prevented from seeing Craft out of fear that it might be harmful to the boy, she said.

“He’s the only part of Keith I have left other than the memories,” she said.

A jury last month convicted Craft of shooting Keith Brown to death July 23.

Authorities and witnesses said the killing came after a heated argument between Craft and Brown. Brown had been seeking Craft’s address for police after a woman complained that he had shouted profanities at her and her grandson, witnesses said.

Craft was carrying a .25-caliber automatic pistol loaded with a blank and four live cartridges when he went outside to face Brown. Brown, who also had a gun, was disarmed by a neighbor during the confrontation.

Craft fired a blank at Brown, striking him with some debris. Craft then tauntingly told Brown the round was blank, witnesses said, and Brown angrily picked up a wooden plank and stepped toward Craft and his father.

Several witnesses said Brown dropped the plank before he was shot. Craft and his father said Brown charged toward them with the plank.

Craft fired his gun again, hitting Brown in the face, shoulder and back.

Deputy Public Defender Michael M. Duffey, who represented Craft, asked the judge for a new trial or a reduction in sentence based in part on Craft’s belief that he and his father were threatened.

Duffey also asked the judge to take into account Craft’s lack of a criminal record and Brown’s participation in the argument.

The judge rejected Duffey’s argument, saying Craft was the aggressor and the jury was “right on target.”

“He, in this court’s opinion, is a danger to society,” Schempp said.

Duffey said he would appeal.

Outside the courtroom, Deputy Dist. Atty. Martin L. Herscovitz, who prosecuted the case, said he was confident Craft received a fair trial and that an appeal would fail.

“He displayed a lot of signs of what laymen would call paranoia,” Herscovitz said. “That was my sense, that he was a very dangerous person.”