Nephew, 27, Surrenders in Motor Home Shooting Death

A 27-year-old man sought by police for the shooting death of his uncle surrendered early Friday, investigators said.

Los Angeles Police Detective Marshall White would not say if Richard Scamaldo, the suspect, had confessed to the July 29 killing but said he had been booked on suspicion of murder at the Devonshire station.

John Daniel Houston, 44, who had been staying in a motor home in front of the Scamaldo house in the 19100 block of Malden Street, was found dead in the mobile home Sunday morning.

Houston answered a knock on the door of his motor home about 10 the night before and was shot in the head, White said. Witnesses identified a car that was driven away from the scene as Scamaldo’s, White said, and police put out word that they wanted him for questioning.

Scamaldo surrendered at the Devonshire station about 1 a.m. Friday, White said.

“We still don’t have a motive for why this happened,” White said. “It’s a family thing. It’s hard to put a finger on something like that.”

White said Scamaldo and Houston had argued in the past, but he was unsure of the subject.

Neighbors were surprised by the arrest of Scamaldo, the son of Houston’s sister, Bonnie, and her husband, John Scamaldo.

“I grew up with him, and I never knew him to be violent,” said Peter Bilinski, 35. “I know he’s been out of work for a while and a little desperate, but he’s a nice guy.”

Houston moved from Missouri to Northridge after the 1994 earthquake, hoping to make money installing plasterboard, neighbors said.

Houston would frequently walk around the block, keeping an eye on neighbors’ homes and cars, Bilinski said. Last week, he chased off a group of would-be thieves who had been eyeing Bilinski’s pickup truck, Bilinski said, speculating that they might have been the killers.

Police said Richard Scamaldo had been living with his parents on and off.