Inglewood mayor's daughter convicted in attack on Landlord
Inglewood Mayor James Butts Jr.'s 37-year-old daughter was convicted Monday of assault and conspiracy charges stemming from allegations that she masterminded an attack on her landlord in South Los Angeles just over seven years ago.
Superior Court Judge Mildred Escobedo ordered Ashley Melissa Butts to be taken into custody shortly after the downtown Los Angeles jury's verdict, and the mayor's daughter was led out of the courtroom in handcuffs.
Jurors deliberated for about three hours before finding Butts guilty of one count each of assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury and conspiracy to commit assault with force likely to cause great bodily injury involving the April 30, 2016, attack.
The conspiracy count alleged that she directed co-defendant Israel Rios to come to the residence she shared with her landlord to "commit an assault upon the victim for cash," and then unlocked the door of the home to allow Israel Rios and/or a man identified only as John Doe to enter into the home. The conspiracy count also alleged that her landlord suffered lacerations and contusions on his head after being assaulted with a metal object and that a firearm was discharged during the crime.
Rios, 44, is awaiting trial on assault and conspiracy charges.
Deputy District Attorney Hilary Williams told jurors in her rebuttal argument that there was an "overwhelming amount of evidence" against Butts.
The prosecutor said Butts lied to police detectives investigating the crime and to jurors when she testified in her own defense, noting that Butts -- a law school graduate -- was "literally making up a series of events."
Butts allegedly had disputes with her landlord shortly after moving into his home in the 3300 block of West 78th Street, near Crenshaw Boulevard, and arranged for a ridehailing driver to take two men to the residence to assault the victim, the District Attorney's Office said shortly after the case was filed against her in June 2016.
In his closing argument, one of Butts' attorneys, Joseph Weimortz, questioned how Butts would benefit from the attack.
"How is that revenge?" he asked jurors. "What does Ashley gain by an anonymous attack? ... Nothing."
The defense attorney told the panel that his client immediately called 911 to seek assistance for her landlord, and disputed that she had been a "tenant from hell."
The jury was the second to hear the case against Butts, with the first jury deadlocking in March 2022.
Butts had previously pleaded guilty to assault and conspiracy charges in a plea deal that was expected to result in a one-year county jail term and a suspended four-year state prison term, but she was subsequently allowed to withdraw her plea and proceed to trial.
She is due back in court for sentencing Aug. 31.
Butts is facing a potential maximum sentence of five years in state prison, according to the prosecutor.
One of Butts' attorneys, James Blatt, said outside court that he was disappointed with the jury's verdict, but respected the panel's decision.
Blatt said the defense intends to file a motion seeking a new trial and to appeal Butts' conviction.
"We are hopeful for a successful outcome," he said.
