Man Held in Fatal Argument Over Woman

A dispute between two men over a woman ended with one shot to death in North Hollywood and the other in jail, Los Angeles police said Tuesday.

The 30-year-old victim, a Van Nuys roofer whose name was not released, died at 12:20 a.m. Tuesday at the Medical Center of North Hollywood, about four hours after he was shot at the front door of a house in the 5700 block of Troost Avenue.

Gary Bergantino, 42, who lives in the house where the shooting occurred, was arrested on suspicion of murder and was being held without bail.

A 35-year-old woman whom Bergantino and the shooting victim dated was in the house at the time of the shooting but it was unclear if she witnessed it, police said. Her name was not released.

“The two men had been dating the same woman and had prior confrontations regarding this arrangement,” Detective Michael Coffey said. “During this final encounter, Bergantino brandished a handgun, at which time the victim produced a knife. . . . He was fatally shot by the suspect.”

Coffey said Bergantino, a plumber, had had a relationship with the woman for several years; the roofer began dating her a few months ago. “I think she was willingly dating both men and hadn’t decided” which man to stop seeing, the detective said.

A month ago police broke up a dispute involving the two men at the victim’s Van Nuys apartment. That dispute, in which the men armed themselves with a hammer and a pole, was witnessed by the woman but police did not know why all three were at the apartment. “It was a big three-party domestic dispute but police arrived before anyone was hurt,” Coffey said.

At the time of Monday’s shooting, the woman was living with Bergantino, police said. The victim and a friend arrived and a dispute with Bergantino erupted on the front porch.

The victim was shot and collapsed on the threshold. His friend, whose name was not released, was uninjured.

Police said they were didn’t know why the victim pulled a knife when confronted with a gun. The case will be referred later this week to the Los Angeles County district attorney.