Repair Shop Owner Shot Youth, Lawyer Tells Press Meeting

An attorney for the family of a slain Costa Mesa youth said at a press conference Wednesday that the man who shot the boy last week outside an auto repair shop was the shop’s owner, Eric Vincent Holt.

Police and the Orange County district attorney’s office have refused to identify the man who fatally shot David Gallardo, 15, just after midnight on Oct. 30 outside Holtz VW Repair in Costa Mesa. Nor have authorities offered a reason for the silence.

Attorney Amador L. Corona of Santa Ana said at the press conference that his investigator learned of Holt’s identity from Gallardo’s stepbrother, Eric Haddan, 20, of Costa Mesa, who talked to Holt after the shooting.

Also, Thomas Ramirez, 16, Gallardo’s companion that night, told Corona’s office that he had learned of Holt’s identity during an interview at the public defender’s office.

In addition, a source close to the case told The Times that Holt is identified in a police report as the man who admitted shooting Gallardo after the youths allegedly stole parts from the shop at 786 West 20th St. Police reported finding several wheel lug nuts in Gallardo’s car that night.

Holt, listed in business records as the owner of Holtz VW Repair, reportedly was in San Diego and could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Corona claimed that the shooting was “an execution” and “grossly negligent.”

But circumstances surrounding Gallardo’s death remain unclear. Shop manager Russ Williams said the shooter--whom he did not identify--told Williams he fired a shotgun unintentionally after the youths stole expensive wheel parts from a Porsche, then tried to drive off.

Their car was parked inside a fenced area. Williams said the shooter yelled either “halt” or “stop,” then walked toward Gallardo’s car with the shotgun pointed in their direction. When the car moved forward, Williams said, the shotgun struck a window post and accidentally fired in the direction of Gallardo, who then slumped forward.

But Ramirez’s father, relating his son’s account, said the shooter fired without warning from a distance of about four feet.

The Costa Mesa police report said that Holt, his wife and children were spending the night inside the business at the time, according to The Times’ source.

At the press conference, Gallardo’s stepbrother Haddan said that Holt flagged him down last Friday as he drove by Holt’s shop and asked: “That wasn’t your brother that I shot, was it?”

Holt then apologized, Haddan said, and told him that it was an accident. Holt said he had surprised Gallardo and Ramirez after he came outside to investigate a noise that sounded like a car door slam, Haddan said.

Haddan said Holt told him that he had a loaded shotgun and that he found the youths trying to take a wheel off a Porsche. When the youths fled on foot, he followed and ran to the front of their car, hoping to disable it by disconnecting an engine wire, Haddan said.

Haddan said Holt then walked to the driver’s side and pointed the gun at the dashboard.

Aware of Family Grief

“He (Holt) said David accelerated, then threw up both his hands, and as he did, one of David’s hands apparently touched the gun barrel and the shotgun went off,” Haddan said.

Holt, who knows Gallardo’s stepfather, Stan Dick of Costa Mesa, was aware of the family’s grief, Haddan said, and told Haddan “he didn’t know how he was going to face Stan.”

According to the unreleased police report, The Times source said, police officers found Gallardo slumped over in the passenger seat, severely wounded in the back of the head, and they found the driver’s side window broken.

Holt told police he had thought Gallardo was armed, the source said, quoting the report as saying:

“I’ve been getting ripped off and I saw this guy in the car and saw something point . . . kinda. . . . I thought he had the gun or something.” The report also was quoted as saying that Holt expressed remorse and added that he had been staying overnight at the repair shop because of previous break-ins.

‘Not Going to Comment’

Williams said the shop has received anonymous telephone threats, but neither police nor the district attorney’s office would say whether that is the reason for their silence.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard M. King, who heads the district attorney’s investigation, said Wednesday, “I’m not going to comment on the investigation, and I’m not going to confirm or deny any of the investigation. It’s an ongoing investigation.”

Dick, Gallardo’s stepfather, said Wednesday that law enforcement officers’ refusal to identify the shooter has led him to believe they are protecting him.

Officials from the public defender’s office were not immediately able to confirm the identity of the interviewer who reportedly gave Holt’s name to Ramirez.

Carol E. Lavacot, Ramirez’s attorney in the public defender’s office, said she could not comment because it would violate her attorney-client relationship. Her client faces a possible theft charge.