VAN NUYS : 2 Robbers Given Life in Prison for Murder

Calling them a “danger to the community,” a judge sentenced two Pacoima men to life in prison without the possibility of parole for committing a series of late-night robberies in the San Fernando Valley that led to one man’s death and to the shooting of a police officer on the night they were captured.

Howard D. Holt, 29, and Claude E. Davis, 28, both ex-convicts, were found guilty in August of murdering a musician working at a Studio City restaurant during a robbery and of two counts of attempted murder for shooting at two Los Angeles police officers who responded to a silent alarm.

Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Howard J. Schwab handed down the maximum sentence for each defendant. In addition to life without parole, Schwab tacked on two life terms and sentences of about 70 years for each man.

Holt and Davis were committing a robbery when Vartan Mouradian, 33, was gunned down at the Grecian Village restaurant on Nov. 27, 1991. While authorities said Davis was the one who actually fired the fatal shot, Holt is also responsible because he was involved in the robbery.

Davis was convicted of 49 separate counts. After pleading guilty on the first day of his trial to 19 counts, Holt was convicted of 28 charges.

The pair committed a series of “take down” robberies--so named because the armed robbers enter an establishment and order patrons to the floor.

Their two-month crime spree came to an end on Jan. 15, 1992, when the manager of the Grandview Chinese restaurant in Northridge set off an alarm that brought police to the scene.

A shootout followed in which Officer Dennis Hinman was struck in the leg by a bullet fired from Holt’s .44-magnum handgun. Holt was struck in the hand by a bullet.