Suspect Denies San Pedro Slaying

The man accused of gunning down a San Pedro contractor in the house he had recently built for his family has pleaded not guilty to the crime.

Kelvin McNeal Watson, 29, of Harbor City faces an Aug. 20 preliminary hearing in San Pedro Municipal Court on charges that he killed contractor Richard Mavar, 30, during a botched house burglary at Mavar’s San Pedro home July 15.

Prosecutors have charged Watson with robbery and murder, along with special-circumstance allegations that could lead to the death penalty if he is convicted.

In a bizarre twist to the shooting, which stunned residents of the quiet neighborhood where it took place, police investigators revealed that Mavar was killed by several rounds from an AK-47 assault rifle.

Police said they recovered the military weapon in bushes a few yards from the garage where police dogs found Watson hiding shortly after the shooting.

Jewelry taken from Mavar’s master bedroom during the robbery also was found a short distance from where Watson was arrested, investigators said.

Homicide Detective Paul Mize of the Los Angeles Police Department’s South Bureau described Watson as a house painter who had recently moved to Harbor City from the Chicago area. Illinois officials had not yet responded to a request for information on whether Watson has a police record, he said.

Mize, who noted that Watson and Mavar did not know one another, said investigators are baffled about why a burglar would arm himself with an assault rifle for a residential robbery.

“It sounds a little bizarre, doesn’t it?� Mize said.

According to investigators, the shooting took place at about 11 p.m. that hot Sunday evening when the burglar walked through the open French doors from the back yard of Mavar’s home at 1415 W. Santa Cruz St.

The burglar ordered Mavar and his wife, Cameran, to lie on the floor as he moved through the house. At one point, however, Mavar sprang to his feet and tried to tackle the man, Mize said. During the struggle, Cameran Mavar ran screaming to a neighbor’s house to call police.

Moments later, neighbors heard shots. When police arrived five minutes later, they found Mavar dead on his living room floor.

Mize said the break-in was the third burglary at the Mavars’ house in less than three months. Investigators who served a search warrant on Watson’s apartment after his arrest said they found a watch similar to one taken from Mavar’s home during an April burglary. No one was home during either that break-in or another in June, Mize said.

The Mavars moved into the house early this year, he said.