Former CHP Officer’s Attorneys Seek Bail in 1989 Murder Case

Calling their client a devoted family man, attorneys asked a judge Friday to grant bail to a former CHP officer accused of hiring a hit man to kill his business partner in Brea 11 years ago.

Attorneys filed the written motion four days before a judge is scheduled to decide whether Michael Woods should be released on bail while he awaits trial for the 1989 machine-gun slaying of Horace McKenna, his former CHP partner.

The lengthy motion portrays Woods as a man who devoted his life to his wife and two daughters and generously contributed to charities from the proceeds of his string of Los Angeles County nude clubs.

Attorneys contend that Woods is suffering from high blood pressure and cannot adequately prepare his defense from Orange County Jail, where he is being held in protective custody.

Prosecutors say Woods paid $50,000 to a former bodyguard to kill McKenna, his partner in the strip clubs. The bodyguard, David Amos, allegedly paid half the money to a third man, John Patrick Sheridan, who is accused of shooting and killing McKenna as he arrived in a limousine at his ranch in the Brea hills.

Amos and Sheridan pleaded not guilty Friday. They were ordered held without bail, pending Jan. 22 preliminary hearings.

Among the 35 letters submitted with the bail request were letters from Woods’ wife, Diane, and two adult daughters.