Stuntman Cleared; Ex-Convict’s Slaying Called Self-Defense : Violence: Prosecutors say the shooting death is a clear case of justifiable homicide. The victim had a history of violent assaults and was a suspect in an attempted rape.

Murder charges will not be filed against a Hollywood stuntman who during the weekend shot and killed an ex-convict he had befriended, the district attorney’s office announced Monday.

Stuntman Gary Raymond McLarty, 49, was released Monday afternoon after having been arrested Saturday in the fatal shooting of Donald Louis Deppe, 50, of North Hollywood, who authorities said had a history of violent assaults.

“It’s a clear case of justifiable homicide based on self-defense,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Myron Jenkins, who made the decision not to file charges. “McLarty had reasonable fear for his life.”

Police Detective Al Ferrand said he agreed with the decision. “We think it was self-defense,” he said.

McLarty could not be reached for comment. His estranged wife, Karen, said the decision restored her faith in the judicial system.

“It’s a relief,” said Karen McLarty, who after his arrest expressed concern that her husband’s story would not be believed by prosecutors. “Sometimes the truth doesn’t work.”

The release of McLarty, who had been held without bail at the Foothill Division jail, concluded an unusual chain of events that began Friday morning at a house on Little Tujunga Road near Sylmar where McLarty once lived.

A Sheriff’s Department SWAT team approached the house at about 7 a.m. to serve an arrest warrant on Deppe, a house guest of McLarty who was accused of the attempted rape of a 21-year-old woman who was a friend of McLarty.

As deputies approached, a man ran out of the house and allegedly opened fire. Deputies shot back, fatally wounding the man, later identified as Edward Lynn Ralston, 42, an escaped convict.

Ralston’s body remained in front of the house for nearly five hours because deputies believed Deppe was still in the house. The SWAT team had been sent to serve the warrant because Deppe had a history of violent assaults and deputies believed that he was armed.

After firing tear gas into the house, deputies found the house vacant. Later that night, a fire destroyed the house. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but fire officials said it may have been caused by tear gas canisters.

Meanwhile, McLarty called depties to say that he had shot and killed Deppe at McLarty’s ranch in Lake View Terrace. Police officials said McLarty told them that Deppe--nicknamed the Bear because of his large frame--had threatened to kill him.

Authorities said that Deppe was angry because he knew that McLarty had told them he was staying at the Little Tujunga Canyon house, and because his friend Ralston had been killed by deputies.

Jenkins said that McLarty said he feared for his life and had obtained a gun shortly before the shooting.

“McLarty has a clear case of self-defense,” Jenkins said. “I don’t think a police officer would have waited, so I don’t think McLarty should be held to a higher standard.”

Jenkins said the case was so clear that it was taken to court a day earlier than normal to resolve.

Michael Conway, a parole administrator with the state Department of Corrections, said Ralston had been convicted of drug possession and of receiving stolen property. He had been sentenced to two years in prison and had just begun to serve the balance of his sentence in a re-entry program in September when he escaped.