Police Arrest 3 Men in Killing of Former KPFK Radio Host

Detectives have arrested three men in connection with the execution-style slaying of a former KPFK radio host.

Michael Taylor, who many activists say led Los Angeles coverage of imprisoned black journalist Mumia Abu Jamal’s case in Philadelphia, was found shot to death near Crenshaw Boulevard and 67th Avenue on April 23. One of the suspects was captured while driving Taylor’s 1973 yellow VW Beetle.

The men, who officers say knew Taylor well, were arraigned May 9 in Los Angeles Municipal Court on one charge of murder and one count of kidnapping with the purpose of robbery. The men were arrested the day before, but detectives investigating the slaying kept a low profile as they continued to search for other suspects.

The men, all held without bail at County Jail, are Andrew Lancaster, 23, of Compton, Shawn Alexander, 19, of Los Angeles, and Jornay Rechurnd, 20, of Los Angeles. The murder charge carries the special circumstances of murder during commission of a kidnapping and murder for financial gain, which could bring the men the death penalty if they are found guilty.

Detectives declined to explain the possible financial motivation for the shooting but said that Taylor was not killed for his sometimes controversial views.

For weeks police have been slowly piecing together tips and evidence from Taylor’s many friends about why the gregarious journalist was slain. The same friends say the 45-year-old Taylor had warned them days before his murder that he feared his life was in danger. Taylor was last seen leaving his Hollywood home with three unidentified men April 21. His body was found two days later, bound and gagged near a dirty vacant lot.

In 1992, Taylor enrolled in a radio apprenticeship program at Studio City-based KPFK. While a volunteer at the public radio station, he interviewed local community groups and authors such as Washington Post writer Nathan McCall.

The former skid row resident, who had turned a life of drugs into a passion for community activism, was hard at work raising money and support for a micro-radio station to be called “L.A. Liberation Radio.” For months Taylor had traversed the city, lobbying his contacts to donate money for what he said would be a radio station dedicated to the “voiceless” people of Los Angeles.