Shop Owner Not Indicted in Slaying

The Orange County Grand Jury has decided not to indict a Costa Mesa auto repair shop owner who fatally shot a suspected teen-age burglar.

The 19-member jury found no reason to bring criminal charges in the incident, jury foreman James V. Robinson II said Wednesday in a prepared statement.

Authorities have said that shop owner Eric Vincent Holt fired a shotgun into a car window, killing David Gallardo, 15, just after midnight Oct. 29, as Gallardo and a companion were driving away from Holt’s shop. Holt reportedly believed that the two had stolen expensive alloy wheels from a Porsche, and police said lug nuts from one of the wheels later were found inside Gallardo’s car.

Members of the victim’s family could not be reached Wednesday. But Amador Corona, the family’s attorney, said he was “shocked and dismayed” at the jury’s decision.

“They still left one unanswered question--Why was the shot actually fired?” the lawyer said. “They have intimated that Holt had feared for his safety. . . . but I think pointing a loaded gun at a person through a window pane and having it go off is negligent.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard King said the district attorney’s office plans no further action.

Corona said the decision “will have no impact” on the family’s $1.1-million civil suit against Holt, alleging that the shop owner was negligent and used excessive force.

Holt could not be reached for comment.