Unruly Man Dies After Breaking Into House

An apparently deranged intruder broke into a Pacoima house Thursday and was restrained by residents, then died en route to a hospital, apparently of a drug overdose, Los Angeles police reported.

William Robert Fields, 24, of Apple Valley died in an ambulance on the way to Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills after police arrested him outside the house in the 13400 block of Desmond Street, Detective Al Ferrand said.

Results of an autopsy will not be available for several weeks, Ferrand said.

Neither officers nor the residents injured the man, he said.

Fields kicked in the front door of the house about 1:30 a.m. and, once inside, began stacking furniture against the door, apparently to keep out an imaginary assailant, Ferrand said. He then ran through the house, screaming incoherently, and knocked out windows, apparently to get outside, he said.

A 16-year-old girl who was awakened by the commotion called police while five other family members threw the man to the living room floor and held him there until officers arrived, police said. The house is occupied by a family of seven or eight, Ferrand said.

Ferrand said Fields fits the description of a man who witnesses said was chasing and assaulting people near the house about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.