SANTA CALRITA / ANTELOPE VALLEY : Felony Charges Filed in Gunshot Incident

Felony charges were filed Thursday against a man accused of firing a shot from a semi-automatic pistol during a confrontation with striking Antelope Valley bus system workers.

Whittier resident Dung Pham, 31, was charged Thursday with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon and personal use of a firearm following the Tuesday incident. He was also charged with one count of negligent discharge of a firearm, Deputy Dist. Atty. Ches McKay said.

Pham, who was released Wednesday on $5,000 bail, is scheduled to be arraigned Dec. 15.

Some 80 bus drivers and mechanics have been on strike against DAVE Transportation Services Inc. since Oct. 25. The strikers have been picketing outside the office shared by DAVE Transportation and the agency it operates the transit system for, the Antelope Valley Transportation Authority, since the work stoppage began.

The strike has hurt bus service in the Antelope Valley and although a federal mediator has met three times with DAVE Transportation, the strikers and their union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 572, no progress has been made. A fourth session with the mediator is scheduled for Wednesday.

Pham is a DAVE Transportation mechanic who was brought in from another location to fill in for the striking workers. After the shooting incident he was suspended pending an investigation, company officials said.