2 Deaths to Cost Driver 11 Years : Drunk Drifter Gets Maximum After Driving Auto Into Crowd

A 45-year-old transient was sentenced to 11 years in state prison Friday in the deaths of two men whom he rammed and crushed with his car when he drove into a crowd in a Pacoima shopping center.

Howard Earl Dunn pleaded no contest last month to voluntary manslaughter in the Sept. 2 deaths of Charlie Holt, 52, and John Carter, 71, both of Pacoima. San Fernando Superior Court Judge John H. Major said he ordered that Dunn receive the maximum sentence because of the vulnerability of the victims and the “great violence and great bodily harm” inflicted on them.

At the time of the incident, Dunn, a part-time handyman who lived in a rented camper shell, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.28, nearly triple the 0.10 state standard for intoxication, authorities said. A probation report prepared for the sentencing said Dunn had been drinking heavily for a week before the incident.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Kenneth L. Barshop said authorities determined that the brakes on Dunn’s car had malfunctioned.

“But for that, Mr. Dunn would be facing murder charges,” Barshop said.

Crowd Sitting Against Wall

Witnesses have reported that it appeared that Dunn deliberately drove into a crowd sitting against a wall in the parking lot of a shopping center at Vaughn Street and Glenoaks Boulevard.

The incident was triggered when two women threw a bottle at Dunn’s car after getting out of it, the probation report said. The women were believed to be prostitutes, Barshop said, and Dunn may have been trying to hit them.

After crushing the two men against a cinder-block wall, Dunn backed his car across the street and struck a car driven by Jose Landeros, the report said. Four members of Landeros’ family were also in the car.

Dunn was also ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution to cover minor injuries to the Landeros family and damage to their car.

A security guard captured Dunn and held him until police arrived. A crowd gathered while Dunn was being held and threatened him with bodily harm, said George Aldrige, the security guard, who held back the crowd.

Dunn’s attorney, Tim Murphy, said his client has felt remorse for the killings.

“If there was a way he could bring these people back, he would,” Murphy said.