Orange County serial murders suspects plead not guilty

SANTA ANA Calif. (KABC) -- Two convicted sex offenders have pleaded not guilty to the rape and murder of four women in Orange County.

Franc Cano, 28, and Steven Dean Gordon, 45, both of Anaheim, were ordered held without bail.

Prosecutors say the men worked together to sexually assault and kill four women, all while wearing GPS tracking devices ordered after prior sex crimes.

The two men were indicted in Oct. 2 on four counts of murder with special circumstance allegations of killing during a rape, kidnapping, lying in wait and multiple murders, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Larry Yellin.

One woman's body was found at a trash sorting plant. The others have not been found.

Police said the victims frequented a Santa Ana neighborhood known for prostitution and drugs.

Prosecutors presented 16 witnesses over three days of testimony before a grand jury. They hope to get the case to trial quickly by presenting the case to a grand jury instead of holding a preliminary hearing, Yellin said.

Cano was convicted in 2008 of lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 14, while Gordon has two convictions from 1992 for lewd and lascivious acts on a child younger than 14, as well as kidnapping his estranged wife in 2002.

Cano and Gordon are expected to be back in court Nov. 14 for a pretrial hearing.

City News Service contributed to this report.