Judge Frees Landlord in Slaying of Tenant, 66 : Van Nuys: Evidence is cited that the woman could have been a threat to the elderly apartment manager’s life. His lack of a criminal record is also a factor.

A 70-year-old Van Nuys landlord who admitted firing 12 shots and killing an unruly tenant was set free Friday by a judge who said that the man could have felt his life was in danger.

Paul Davis, manager of a 15-unit complex in the 15600 block of Leadwell Street, could have been imprisoned for nine years for his conviction by a jury last month in the April 7, 1992, death of 66-year-old Andree Calleux, a tenant in the complex.

At his trial, prosecutors played a tape of a statement that Davis made to police in which he admitted shooting the woman six times with a pistol, then reloading and firing six more shots.

Davis testified that Calleux had threatened to kill him the day before the shooting in a dispute over back rent.

Police had said the dispute escalated into an argument inside Davis’ office at the apartment complex, where the woman was shot.

Officers found the woman dead on the floor of the office.

Davis called police to notify them of the shooting.

Calleux also had disrupted other tenants, Davis said.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Darlene Schempp said she decided to set Davis free because of evidence that Calleux could have been a threat to his life.

She also cited Davis’ age and lack of a criminal record.

Davis was jailed for 51 days following the shooting before he was allowed to post bail.

Schempp also ordered him to serve 300 hours of community service, pay fines of about $1,000 and placed him on probation for three years.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Andrew W. Diamond said that Calleux was a “bit off center,” citing testimony that she kept many cats and had trash and cars scattered throughout the Leadwell Street complex, which is owned by Davis’ daughter.

At the sentencing hearing, Diamond did not suggest a sentence and Deputy Public Defender Dennis Cohen argued for Davis’ release.

Diamond would not discuss the case after sentencing except to cite the jury’s decision to reduce the charge from second-degree murder to involuntary manslaughter, saying, “The jury has spoken.”