Barricaded Man Kills Himself in Van Nuys

A Van Nuys man who fired several gunshots at Los Angeles police officers shot himself to death Thursday during a lengthy standoff that ended after the city’s armored battering ram destroyed most of his house.

The gunman, Gary Snyder, 51, an unemployed tow truck driver described by residents as a neighborhood “terror,” was found dead about 6:30 a.m. in the rubble of his home.

About three hours earlier, police drove the tank-like battering ram into the three-bedroom house several times, leaving all but one rear bedroom destroyed.

Police said Snyder was found under debris in the living room and appeared to have killed himself with a shotgun blast. The shotgun and a handgun were found by his side.

Screaming for Help

Lt. Warren Knowles said the incident began about 8:45 p.m. Wednesday when a woman identified as Snyder’s girlfriend, Tina Marie Rathje, 30, ran from his home screaming for help but was chased down by Snyder at a neighbor’s house and forced back to his house.

The neighbors called police but warned officers that Snyder had several weapons in his home. “They were told that this guy was dangerous, that he had guns,” Knowles said.

Rather than approach Snyder’s front door, the officers used their patrol car’s loudspeaker to order everyone out of his house, located on a cul-de-sac in the 7500 block of De Celis Place.

Three people emerged, including house mates William Burti, 41, Jill Croteau, 45, and Rathje, who had bruises on her face and stomach. They told officers that Snyder was armed and refused to leave.

The police Special Weapons and Tactics team was called to the scene and nearby homes were evacuated while streets were closed to traffic.

Shots Fired From House

After several calls from police for Snyder to surrender, officers shot tear gas into the house. Police said Snyder responded by firing about 10 shots from a side window. No one was injured.

Police said Snyder’s shots “initiated our decision to bring out the ram,” Knowles said.

“Snyder was asked to come to the window and look at the ram,” Knowles said. “He was told we intended to use it if he did not come out.”

There was no response and at 3 a.m. officers started repeatedly crashing the ram into the house.

“It completely took out the front of the house,” said Mitch Lupoff, a neighbor. “You could hear glass crashing and walls crumbling.”

Afterwards, officers searched the rubble for nearly three hours before finding Snyder’s body.

In the one room left undamaged by the ram, police found Nazi paraphernalia, including swastika flags and stickers. Officers also found boxes in the back yard containing hundreds of spent cartridge casings that Snyder apparently had collected.

Feared by Neighbors

Some neighbors described Snyder as an unfriendly, heavily tattooed man whom they feared. They said Snyder took poor care of his property and rode loud motorcycles. He recently upset neighbors by allowing a friend to park an old school bus on the street.

Lupoff said he believed that some residents feared Snyder because they suspected him of throwing a beer bottle through a neighbor’s window and of painting the sidewalk in front of another neighbor’s home after getting into disputes with him.

“He was a real terror, and people living on the block tried to stay away,” Lupoff said.

Times staff writer Nieson Himmel contributed to this story.