Daughter of Inglewood mayor charged with hiring friend to attack her landlord
The daughter of Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts was arrested and charged Wednesday with arranging an attack for cash on her landlord over an ongoing dispute, prosecutors said.
Ashley Melissa Butts, 30, of Inglewood and her friend, Israel Rios, were taken into custody on an arrest warrant stemming from the April 30 attack, according to a Los Angeles County Superior Court complaint.
Butts and Rios are charged with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, conspiracy to commit a crime and first-degree burglary.
Shortly after Butts moved into her landlord’s home in the 3300 block of West 78th Street in Hyde Park, they began quarreling, prosecutors said.
According to the criminal complaint, Butts called Rios on her cellphone and instructed Rios to come to their home, so that he could attack the victim in exchange for cash.
Butts allegedly then had an Uber driver pick up Rios, 37, and an unidentified man and drive them to her home.
Butts and Rios texted each other with directions on how to enter the home, according to the complaint.
After Rios arrived at the home, she allegedly texted him that he should knock.
Rios responded, “Open it, homie will…he opened it with a knife,†according to the complaint.
She then unlocked the door, allowing them to enter, prosecutors said.
When the victim approached the door, Rios attacked him with a metal bat and then one of the men discharged a firearm at him, according to the complaint.
The victim suffered cuts and bruises to his head. He was not struck by gunfire, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
If Butts is convicted of the charges, she faces up to seven years in prison. Rios faces up to 22 years in prison.
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