Gang Suspect Held After Man Slain at Home

A 67-year-old man was shot to death while his wife was held in another room Friday night by two robbers who broke into their Woodland Hills house, authorities said Saturday.

Detectives later arrested a suspected South-Central Los Angeles gang member in connection with the slaying. The 17-year-old boy was being held at Sylmar Juvenile Hall, and a second assailant was still at large, Los Angeles police said.

Howard David King was pronounced dead at the scene of the 8:40 p.m. shooting in his ranch-style house in the 22900 block of Darien Street, Lt. Jim Watters said. The intruders held his wife, Faye

King, 68, in another part of the house but did not harm her, Watters said. The robbers fled with an unknown amount of cash, the lieutenant said.

Howard King was shot once in the upper body when one of the robbers confronted him in the bedroom, Watters said.

Information from witnesses and evidence found at the King home led to the arrest of the 17-year-old, Watters said. Police disclosed no other details of the arrest.

The assailant still sought by police was described as a black man in his early to mid-20s, Watters said. He is believed to stand between 5 feet, 8 inches and 6 feet tall and weigh between 160 and 170 pounds.

The King house is on a cul-de-sac at the end of Darien Street in a quiet neighborhood just south of Mulholland Drive. The Kings had lived in the house for at least 20 years, said neighbors Skip and Nancy Northcross.

Howard King was an executive with Century Windows Inc., a firm in the City of Industry, the Northcrosses said.

The neighborhood has been one where residents answered their doors without hesitation, but not anymore, they said.

“Right now, we’re very paranoid,” said Nancy Northcross, 40. “You’re looking over your shoulder at every car that drives by . . . . You read about gang members in the papers and the news for how many weeks now, but you don’t associate it with our community. We’ve felt pretty sheltered and secure.”

A day before the shooting, Skip Northcross was taking out the trash when he and his wife saw a suspicious car parked near the King home. The polished gold Cadillac, with a black vinyl top and a decorative spare tire on the trunk lid, sat in a nearby driveway for several minutes Thursday evening, he said.

“It looked like they were checking the neighborhood out,” his wife said.