Man Gets 15 Years in Fatal Brentwood Carjacking

The third suspect in a follow-home robbery-murder was sentenced to prison Monday, closing another chapter in the slaying of a well-to-do food company executive in Brentwood.

Bennie Lee Kamack was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of killing Craig Harrington, 42, during a botched daytime carjacking attempt in Harrington’s garage.

Kamack, 43, of Los Angeles, was the driver in the 1995 stabbing death that involved two other suspects.

The three men--who prosecutors said wanted money to buy drugs--followed Harrington and his wife as the couple drove to their Montana Avenue condominium after a shopping trip.

The three suspects were tried separately in Santa Monica Superior Court; the cases concluded this month.

Lewis Anthony Harris was convicted of first-degree murder and robbery. He was also convicted on six other counts of robbery, kidnapping and carjacking involving four other victims after a 2 1/2-month trial that concluded June 13. Harris, 36, of Los Angeles, was sentenced to 152 years in prison without the possibility of parole.

Dexter Johnson, 37, was convicted of first-degree murder and being an accessory to murder after a one-day trial. Johnson, also of Los Angeles, was sentenced earlier this month to 25 years to life in prison.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Darren Levine said Kamack, a delivery truck driver with no prior criminal history, received a lesser sentence because he testified against the two other defendants in court. He apparently had met them at a pickup basketball game and had agreed only to steal a car, Levine said.

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Levine, adding that Kamack was a drug addict.

Harrington’s murder shook residents in the quiet Brentwood neighborhood and caused many to increase security in the area. Harrington, an executive at Dole Food Co., and his wife drove through their condominium security gate on a Saturday morning after completing several errands when three men in a pickup truck followed their Mercedes-Benz convertible in before the gate closed.

Harrington had apparently thought that the vehicle belonged to the gardeners that serviced the complex. But as he and his wife, Cherice Lund, walked away from the car, Harris and Johnson rushed him in an attempt to steal his car while Kamack operated as a lookout inside the truck.

Harris allegedly stabbed Harrington, killing him within seconds. Lund fled the attack unharmed.

The three men were unable to start the car and fled, taking several items from the couple, including cash, credit cards and jewelry. The couple had no children but were planning to start a family, Levine said.

“This was a tragic, tragic case,” said the prosecutor, adding that the attack led Lund to leave Los Angeles. “These were very nice people who were out shopping one Saturday and returned home to be brutally murdered.”