SANTA ANA, Calif. -- 'Freeway Killer' suspects Gregory Miley and Vernon Butts have pleaded innocent to charges they participated in the homosexual slayings of four Orange County youths.
Municipal Court Judge Richard Orozco Friday scheduled a Jan. 12 hearing for Miley, 19, of Texas, and a Jan. 26 hearing for Butts, 23, of Downey, Calif.
The hearings will determine whether either suspect will stand trial on the charges contained in the grand jury indictment.
Both Butts and Miley face similar 'Freeway Killer' charges in Los Angeles County.
The Orange County indictment accused Butts of participating in the slayings of mark Duane Shelton, 17, of Westminster; Robert Wirostek, 18, of Newport Beach, and Darin Lee Kendrick, 19, of Cypress.
Miley was accused of participating in the murder of James Michael McCabe, 12, of Garden Grove.
Both suspects are believed to have committed the slayings with prime 'Freeway Killer' suspect William Bonin, who has been charged with 14 of the more than 40 deaths of teen-agers and young men throughout Southern California. Bonin pleaded innocent to the charges.
