Decrying Helmet Law, Motorcyclist Kills Self

A motorcyclist who said he was despondent over the state’s 9-day-old mandatory helmet law stepped into the back yard of his El Sereno home, strapped on his new helmet and shot himself to death Thursday morning, police said.

“He left a note on a dresser inside the house,” said Detective Robert Pulido of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Hollenbeck Division. “It said: ‘Now I can’t ever ride again.’ ”

Pulido said Gerald Marotta, 48, was a self-employed motorcycle mechanic and motorcycling enthusiast who strongly opposed the new law requiring motorcyclists and their passengers to wear protective headgear.

“His wife and his brother said that he used to go out riding without a helmet to cope with the everyday problems and frustrations of life,” the detective said. “They said that since the new law went into effect, he could not enjoy freedom of life. He said it felt like he had a box on his head.”

According to Pulido and his partner, Detective Larry Martinez, Marotta grabbed his pistol about 6:30 a.m., stepped outside his modest home on Mariondale Avenue, placed the helmet on his head and shot himself once in the face. Officers summoned by Marotta’s wife found him dead in the back yard.

The helmet law, authored by Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson), went into effect Jan. 1. Fines range from $100 for the first offense to $250 for the third.

Floyd rejected the suggestion that the law was responsible for Marotta’s death.

“That’s bull . . . and we all know it,” Floyd told a news service Thursday. “Let’s find out what his mental state has been all his life. And if he’s that kind of a delusional guy, what’s he doing with a gun?”

Attorney Wendy Lascher, who is challenging the law on behalf of four motorcyclists who contend that it violates their freedom of expression, said she was not certain what happened in Marotta’s case.

“Most people don’t cope with a loss by killing themselves,” she said. “But from what I heard about his note, I think the law did have something to do with his death, in that (riding without a helmet) apparently was his only outlet.”