New murder charge in ‘Miss Flo’ killing

SANJOSE » Three men were indicted Thursday on murder charges in the beating death of 88-year- old Floavis “MissFlo” Douglas — including a neighbor who had previously been charged only with helping plan the botched home-invasion robbery.

The indictment was handed down by the Santa Clara County grand jury against Zachary Omar Cuen, Johnny Raymond Brown Jr. and Douglas’ neighbor, Willie King, who had previously been charged only with being an accessory to the brutal killing.

Cuen and Brown, who allegedly broke into Douglas’ house, punching and kicking the frail woman when it turned out she was at home, face more serious charges — special circumstances murder, which carries a sentence of life in prison without parole. The special circumstance is murder during the commission of a robbery and/or burglary.

King, who is suspected of conspiring to burglarize Douglas but did not participate in the actual home invasion, could face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

All three murder defendants were being held without bail Thursday in the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

Deputy District Attorney Lance Daugherty presented the case to the grand jury, a swifter path to trial than a preliminary hearing.

Brown appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty to four felony charges and multiple enhancements: murder, robbery, elder abuse causing great bodily injury/death, and burglary. Cuen was scheduled to be arraigned but refused to be transported to court from the Main Jail, which is adjacent to the Hall of Justice courthouse.

Judge GriffinM. J. Bonini ordered Cuen to appear in court Friday, adding that he would order a cell extraction if Cuen refuses.

“I don’t want to, but I will if I had to,” Bonini said in court Thursday.

King also is set to be formally arraigned today.

Prosecutors allege that multiple people figured in the violent Sept. 12, 2016, attack on Douglas. Over the past year, investigators have deduced a scheme in which the alleged culprits carefully watched Douglas and then plotted to ransack her home. What they apparently did not anticipate, authorities said, was that she might be home when they finally made their move.

According to prosecutors, Cuen and Brown went to Douglas’ home on North Cragmont Avenue under the guidance of King, the victim’s across-the- street neighbor.

Criminal charging documents contend that Cuen, Brown, King, Jennifer Jimenez and Perla Arreola— the latter two being the girlfriends of Cuen and Brown, respectively — all discussed or heard about a plan to burglarize Douglas’ home.

Douglas, who initially survived the encounter, told investigators that in the early morning hours, two men entered her home, demanded money and threatened to kill her. When she told the intruders she did not have any money, they punched and kicked her, knocking her to the floor, and continued to land blows on her. They left and then returned to make the same demands and reportedly kicked her several more times.

Douglas, a beloved neighborhood icon, died fromher injuries Oct. 8.