Members of Mob Escape Charges in Beating Death

No charges will be filed against members of a mob in the beating death of a 20-year-old Pacoima man two weeks ago after he went on a shooting rampage during a party in the little town of Val Verde, killing a popular local youth, prosecutors said Friday.

Acknowledging that the slaying of David Mota had overtones of “vigilantism,” investigators and prosecutors said they could not prove that Mota was alive when the mob attacked him, nor--if he was--that the killing was not justifiable as self-defense. Mota had fired into the crowd at random, wounding three others, before the mob attacked.

“Part of the difficulty here is that, legally speaking, the people in the crowd had the right to react the way they did, as harsh as that sounds,” Los Angeles Deputy Dist. Atty. Lewis Watnick said.

The violent outburst has shaken the small, racially mixed community, founded more than 50 years ago as a resort for blacks in the Santa Clarita Valley, northwest of Valencia near the Ventura County line.

Hangout for Street Gangs

Lately, a local park has become a hangout for street gangs, of local youths and youths from Pacoima who frequently visit the area. But gang-caused crime has not been a problem, sheriff’s investigators say, and the double killing has not been blamed on gang tensions, although some of those involved were gang members.

With Friday’s decision, the case is closed and probably will not be reopened, prosecutors said.

“We could reconsider if something new comes to light, but I highly doubt that will happen,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Elliot Lewis Fisher said.

The killings took place Aug. 17 at a party at a house on Morningside Drive to celebrate the baptism of a Val Verde youngster.

As the party was winding down about 1 a.m., Mota, a gang member, saw Gerardo Valle, 17, of Val Verde trying to break up a fight between two teen-agers, sheriff’s investigator Ray Verdugo said. The fight was most likely between a local youth and a member of a Pacoima gang who attended the party, Verdugo said.

Motives Unclear

For motives that are still unclear, Mota took a 12-gauge shotgun from the trunk of his car and shot Valle in the face. The shot instantly killed the teen-ager, a cousin of the party’s host.

Mota then turned the gun on a crowd of about 30 party-goers and fired at random, wounding Romero Diaz, 17, Benjamin Sanchez, 21, and another 17-year-old whose name has not been released.

When Mota ran out of shells, the crowd closed in on him, clubbing him with weapons improvised from a fence post and a chair. The crowd beat Mota savagely, then dragged his body several feet to Trevyelon Street and left it.

Verdugo termed the crowd’s behavior as “a little like vigilantism . . . an emotional response.”

Sheriff’s investigators gathered information for 11 days before presenting it to the district attorney’s office on Thursday, acknowledging that the evidence was weak, Deputy Dist. Atty. Watnick said. After about half an hour, officials decided that the death of Mota at the hands of the surging mob could not be taken to court.

“What we’re talking about here is a person who has just committed murder and who was still holding a gun,” Fisher said.

“He was not totally helpless. In a case like that, one has the right to use deadly force.”

Watnick said the case was further weakened because the coroner could not determine the exact time of Mota’s death.

According to witnesses, Mota fell to the ground just before the crowd attacked him and struck his head on the cement border of a flower bed, a blow that may have killed him before he was beaten, Watnick said.

‘It’s Not a Crime’

“You can beat a dead person as long as you like, and it’s not a crime,” Watnick said.

Valle’s brother, Martin, 28, and his father, Antonio, 50, were originally considered as suspects, Watnick said. Martin was the first to attack Mota after his brother was shot, and Antonio, by some accounts, was the person swinging the fence post, Watnick said.

However, because of conflicting statements from many witnesses, coupled with the confusion over time of death and whether the killing was justifiable, neither man was charged, Lewis said.

“It’s a tough point of law,” Verdugo said.

The incident occurred in a town that was settled in the 1920s by financially secure blacks, barred by racial exclusion policies from other areas, who turned it into a country resort. The population began to change in the 1960s, as Val Verde experienced an influx of Latino farm workers, who moved into the old homes, many of which are now little more than dilapidated shacks. Latinos now make up about half the town’s population of 1,200.

Ranch Homes in Area

An increasing number of Anglo couples, attracted by the area’s real estate prices and tranquil, rural setting, have begun building ranch homes.

Residents appeared shaken by the killings and resentful of the publicity they attracted.

“The boy is dead and nothing’s going to bring him back, so why don’t you leave things alone?” a man asked a reporter at Val Verde County Park. The park is known as a refuge for gang members from the tough streets of Pacoima, who say they go there to escape police pressure at home.

Signs of sorrow were also present. At the town’s general store, a pickle jar put on the counter to collect donations for Valle’s funeral last Saturday was filled with coins and dollar bills.

Valle had attended school in Saugus and was working in a soap factory in nearby Canyon Country at the time of his death. Friends described him as a popular youth who had planned to marry his pregnant girlfriend when he turned 18.

‘He Was a Nice Guy’

“He was a nice guy who died trying to break up a fight,” said resident DeAnne Tippets, who lives across from where the killings occurred.

The violence has increased concern by residents that Val Verde does not receive enough police protection from the Santa Clarita Valley sheriff’s substation.

Some residents complain that patrol officers take a long time to arrive after they are called, and routine patrols are few.

A spokesman for the station said officers do the best they can with limited manpower, but acknowledged that Val Verde could use more patrols.