Judge Drops Murder Charges : Crime: Two accused Glendale men will not be prosecuted in death of teen-age companion, but will face trial only on attempted robbery.

Murder charges were dismissed Monday against two Glendale men accused of taking part in a foiled robbery in which the intended victim shot and killed one of the would-be robbers, a former Glendale High School football star.

After a preliminary hearing in Van Nuys Municipal Court, Judge Jessica Perrin Silvers said the facts of the case did not justify ordering Ian Jerde, 19, and Abel Tianti Cason, 18, to be tried for murder.

However, Silvers agreed with prosecutors that the two should be tried for conspiracy to commit robbery, which carries up to five years in prison.

According to testimony, Jerde, Cason, Andrew Wright, 18, and Shawn Cole, 17, who was Glendale High’s leading rusher this past season before being dismissed from the team in October because of academic problems, drove from Glendale to Van Nuys shortly after midnight Nov. 13, looking for someone to rob.

When they spotted Robert Carr, a 22-year-old off-duty sheriff’s deputy parking his car on a Van Nuys street, Cole approached him with a BB gun that resembled a semiautomatic pistol, according to testimony.

Carr, who was not in uniform at the time of the robbery, testified Monday that he was “in fear of my life� and drew a revolver from his right-front pocket and fired three shots into Cole’s chest, killing him.

The deputy testified that he spun around and fired at another man standing behind him, but missed the fleeing man.

Police witnesses identified Cason as the man who fled, quoting statements made by Wright, who remained in the car with Jerde. Wright, who has been granted immunity in exchange for cooperating with the prosecution, is not charged in the case.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Deanne H. Goodman contended that Jerde and Cason should be charged with murder because they willingly took part in a robbery that led to a death.

But Silvers agreed with defense attorneys, saying there would have to be evidence of an additional provocative act toward the victim by the two to sustain a murder charge.

She set bail at $25,000 each for the two defendants, who have been held without bail since their arrest.