LOCAL : 3 Arrested in Swap Meet Killing

Three suspects in the fatal shooting of a security guard at the San Fernando Swap Meet last month were charged with murder and robbery, authorities said this morning.

Ricardo Roldan, 19, of Pacoima, Richard Zorns, 22, of Arleta, and a 17-year-old Pacoima boy were charged with the June 3 death of Roland (Lucky) Teal, 61, of Pacoima.

Teal, a father of nine and a guard at the swap meet on Glenoaks Boulevard for nearly 20 years, was gunned down shortly after three men took $12,000 from the manager at gunpoint.

After the robbery, several bystanders chased the suspects. Police said Teal grabbed the unarmed juvenile and was holding him when Roldan allegedly came up from behind and shot the guard in the back, killing him.

Lt. Rico Castro said today that detectives reviewed other robberies of area swap meets and found similarities between the June 3 case and one in 1988 in Sunland. Roldan had been arrested in the 1988 case and was on trial at the time of the June robbery, but he was free on bail during the trial.

Detectives gathered evidence linking him and his two friends to the June robbery and shooting, and they were arrested this week. All three were described by police as associates of local gangs.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig R. Richman said he will seek the death penalty against Roldan because he is suspected of firing the shot that killed Teal.