Daily Journal - Apr 19, 2002
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Promoter Must Stand Trial in Racer's Murder
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By Jenna Bordelon
Daily Journal Staff Writer
SANTA ANA - A judge on Thursday ordered Motocross promoter Michael Goodwin to stand trial in the 1988 killings of auto-racing legend Mickey Thompson and Thompson's wife.
Following a three-day preliminary hearing, Orange County Superior Court Judge Francisco P. Briseno concluded that sufficient evidence existed to hold Goodwin, Thompson's former business partner, for trial.
The judge refused to grant Goodwin bail or to move the case to another county, finding that Thompson and Goodwin conducted much of their racing promotion business in Orange County.
"I'm sorry," Goodwin mouthed to his father as bailiffs led the younger man from the courtroom.
Defense attorney Jeffrey S. Benice said that he was not surprised by the outcome of his client's preliminary hearing.
"Mike now is going to get his opportunity to fully vindicate himself," Benice said.
Goodwin, 57, is charged with one count of conspiracy and two counts of murder for financial gain in the shooting deaths of Thompson and his wife.
A pair of unidentified gunmen shot Mickey Thompson, 59, and Trudy Thompson, 41, in the early morning hours of March 16, 1988, as they prepared to leave their Bradbury home, 15 miles east of Los Angeles. Prosecutors have said that Goodwin, who had been embroiled in a bitter business dispute with Mickey Thompson, hired the killers.
Orange County Deputy District Attorney David Brent said he was grateful to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, whose investigation led to Goodwin's eventual arrest.
"It took a lot of hard work by the detective, a lot of initiative, a lot of time and dogged determination," Brent said. "There was never really a huge break in the case."
Outside the courtroom, Collene Campbell, a San Juan Capistrano businesswoman and Mickey Thompson's sister, characterized Goodwin as evil.
"It doesn't change our lives one single bit," Campbell said of the upcoming trial. "It's not going to bring Mickey and Trudy back."
Goodwin's arraignment is scheduled for April 30. If convicted of the charges, he faces life in prison without the possibility of parole.
