Slain Man Was Suspected Drug Dealer

A man shot to death this week while sitting in his customized Mercedes-Benz was a suspected drug dealer who was killed shortly after a court hearing in Van Nuys, where he was facing charges of arson in connection with a string of car fires, authorities said Wednesday.

Robert R. Hagen, 25, of Woodland Hills was shot to death at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday while sitting in his parked car on Calvert Street, about two blocks from the courthouse. No arrests have been made.

Hagen was killed less than an hour after a Superior Court hearing at which his attorney asked a judge to dismiss four counts of arson. Los Angeles police declined Wednesday to comment on whether the arson case, which was held over until Aug. 1, or any other suspected criminal activity involving Hagen, is believed to have any connection to his slaying.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Gloria M. Mas said that Hagen was suspected of selling drugs and that the arson case involved allegations that Hagen intimidated and set fire to cars belonging to four people with whom he had disputes.

“I don’t think he did anything legitimate,” Mas said. “He was known to people in the community as a drug dealer. People were afraid of him.”

Hagen’s attorney, James E. Blatt, declined to comment on how Hagen made a living. But Blatt, who said he represented Hagen in 10 cases since Hagen was 15, said his client had never been arrested for drug dealing and had been planning to buy an auto repair shop.

“He seemed to be getting a handle on his life and was going into legitimate business,” Blatt said. “We walked out of the courthouse together, and he was optimistic about his future. He gave no indication that he felt he was in danger.”

Blatt said that earlier this year, two charges of assault and one charge of possession of anabolic steroids against Hagen, a bodybuilder, were dismissed for lack of evidence.

The arson case involved four separate incidents in 1989, in which people said their cars were damaged by fires after the people had become involved in disputes with Hagen.

A Porter Ranch teen-ager testified at a preliminary hearing last year that his car was burned a day after he accepted a ride home with a woman who had previously dated Hagen. The youth testified that before his car was set on fire, he received a telephone call in which Hagen allegedly told him that he had made a mistake by riding with the woman.

“I’m a nut,” the teen-ager testified that Hagen told him.