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Man Arrested in Shooting Death of Panhandler : Violence: Motorist tells police he acted in self-defense in killing a transient who asked him for money at a gas station. The driver is being held without bail.

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SPECIAL TO THE TIMES

A Van Nuys man was arrested Friday morning after he allegedly shot a panhandler who asked for money at a gas station, Los Angeles police said.

Charles Hoyle, 25, is accused of killing Reggie McKay, also 25, after they argued Thursday night at a Mobil station at Sherman Way and Sepulveda Boulevard, Detective Joseph Aparicio said.

Hoyle was approached by McKay, whose last known address was in Canoga Park, as he got out to pump gas, Aparicio said. Hoyle refused to give McKay money and asked the station attendant to call police “because the guy was harassing him,” Aparicio said.

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McKay left. But when Hoyle returned to his car, the transient reappeared and again asked for money, Aparicio said. The two men argued, and Hoyle drew a handgun and shot McKay twice in the upper torso, Aparicio said.

The gas station attendant called police to report the shooting. By the time police arrived, Hoyle had driven away.

McKay was taken to Valley Presbyterian Hospital in Van Nuys, where he was pronounced dead.

Homicide investigators were able to identify Hoyle less than 12 hours later from witnesses’ descriptions of him and his car, Detective Phil Morritt said.

As police were preparing to arrest him at his home--about a mile from where the shooting occurred--Hoyle came out of his house, got into his car and drove away, Morritt said. Police surrounded his car and arrested him a short distance away.

“The suspect admitted to the shooting but stated it was in self-defense,” Aparicio said. He was taken to the Van Nuys jail and was being held without bail.

Gus Chahayed, who manages the Mobil station but was not present at the time of the shooting, said panhandlers are common in the area but usually are not threatening.

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Other area merchants disagreed, saying that some panhandlers have become more than a nuisance at times.

“They’re crazy. They scream and yell,” said Virginia Lopez, manager of the Pic ‘n’ Save discount store on Sepulveda Boulevard north of the service station.

At another nearby store, the manager said employees felt so threatened last year that security guards were asked to escort them to their cars. He said, however, that the problem has diminished in recent months.

On Friday afternoon, only a few panhandlers were to be seen in the area. One 41-year-old man who said he regularly begs for change near the gas station said some panhandlers he knows are unstable.

Even so, said Mary Lou Holte, founder of the TownKeepers Action Group, violence is not the answer.

“I think it’s out of place to be shooting a transient,” she said. “I’m not saying what they do is right, but you don’t have to shoot them. The streets are getting too violent.”

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