Jury Convicts Man Dubbed ‘Pack Rat’ by L.A. Officials

After a five-week trial, the man authorities have called Los Angeles’ “worst pack rat” has been found guilty of a series of offenses that began one August night in his neighbor’s backyard and ended shortly afterward at the North Hollywood police station.

A Van Nuys Municipal Court jury late Monday found Don Hyatt Martin guilty of resisting arrest, battery on a custodial officer, assault on a custodial officer, destruction of city property, trespassing and loitering.

Martin, who acted as his own lawyer, was acquitted by the jury of assaulting a police officer and vandalism.

Martin was arrested Aug. 27 by Los Angeles police after he was spotted after dark in his next-door neighbor’s backyard in the 11000 block of Hatteras Street in North Hollywood. The neighbor, Mario Pineda, was a key witness against Martin in one of several nuisance cases the city brought against him for storing junk on his many properties.

According to a police report, Martin became belligerent at the police station when officers tried to obtain his fingerprints. The report said he threw one officer into a table, then heaved a typewriter at him, just missing his head. Finally, it said, officers had to subdue him with a tranquilizer from a dart gun to obtain fingerprints.

Martin will be sentenced Nov. 20 by Municipal Judge Isabel R. Cohen.

Deputy City Atty. John C. Rocke said Martin has five separate nuisance cases still pending in Municipal Court, stemming from the storage of junk on his properties, most of them in the San Fernando Valley.

Martin had been dubbed the city’s worst pack rat by health, safety and fire inspectors.