Crowd Rushes Transient After His Car Kills 2 Men

Two men were killed at a Pacoima shopping center Wednesday by a man who drove his car into them as they sat against a wall. The driver, described by police as a transient, was caught by a security guard, who protected him from an angry crowd of 200 until authorities arrived.

Howard Earl Dunn, 45, was held without bail and was scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges today in San Fernando Municipal Court, Los Angeles police officials said.

Police said Charlie Holt, 52, of Pacoima was killed at once when he was pinned against the wall and a 71-year-old Pacoima man died later at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills. His name was with held until his family could be notified.

Witnesses said it appeared that Dunn drove into the men deliberately. Police would not speculate on a motive. George Aldridge, the guard who held Dunn for police, said two women who were sitting near the wall said Dunn was angry at them and may have been trying to hit them.

Gathering Spot

The incident occurred at a parking lot wall extending from the rear of the Mercado del Valle market in a shopping center at the southwest corner of Glenoaks Boulevard and Vaughn Street.

The graffiti-marked wall is a spot where a small group of people regularly sits in the evenings to drink and pass time. Aldridge said that, before the incident, the victims were sitting against the wall with several other people while Dunn was parked in his older model Chrysler about 20 feet away.

At 7:45 p.m., Aldridge said, he “heard this loud bang and turned and saw the car backing away from the wall. Then I heard the people yelling, ‘He killed two people.’ ”

According to police and witnesses, the car drove into Vaughn Street, crashing head-on into another car carrying four adults and a child. No one was seriously injured in either car. The vehicles skidded to a halt in front of a home owned by Irene Bettis.

“I came outside in time to see this car coming at my house,” said Bettis. “I turned around and started running for my life.”

Dunn’s car knocked over Bettis’ mailbox but did no other damage. Police said Dunn got out and started to walk away, but was approached by Aldridge and several people from the parking lot.

“I said, ‘Where do you think you are going?’ and took him back over to the parking lot,” Aldridge said.

With the help of a bystander, Aldridge handcuffed Dunn and sat him down on the base of a parking light pole to wait for police. A crowd of 200 people gathered, police said, and many of them were angry.

“I thought the crowd was going to take the guy from me and kill him right here,” Aldridge said. “They were hollering at me and at him. They said, ‘Let us have him, we’ll take care of it.’ I had to unsnap the loop on my holster. I thought I might need my gun.

“I said to them, ‘Let’s all get back now and wait for the police to come.’ They got back then.”

Aldridge said firefighters who arrived at the scene with an emergency medical team also helped keep order until police arrived. Aldridge said they couldn’t prevent a woman from stepping forward and slapping Dunn across the face before police pulled her away.

Police would not say whether Dunn was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Aldridge said the two victims were often in the group that gathered regularly in the parking lot. He said he had never seen Dunn there before Wednesday night.

The center is anchored by the market on one end and a pool hall on the other; many of the stores have bars over the windows.

Aldridge said he posted “no loitering” signs last year because the shopping center had had problems. The regulars then moved toward the parking lot wall.

“Maybe now they will find somewhere else to go,” he said.