Man Faces Trial in Death of Car Burglar

A 46-year-old Toluca Lake man was ordered Friday to stand trial in the slaying of a car burglar shot in the back while fleeing.

If convicted, Daniel Bernard McDonald could be sentenced to a maximum of life in prison for the Dec. 7 shooting death of Henry Lemus, 23.

Outside court, McDonald complained that car burglary remains a problem at his apartment complex five months after he allegedly fatally shot Lemus.

Police “won’t come out to print the cars, they won’t give us any drive-by” patrols, said McDonald, whom neighbors described as a crusader against car theft. He has been released without posting bail and said he called police last week to complain about the chronic car theft.

“They laughed at me,” McDonald said.

Defense attorney Brian J. Smith criticized the ruling.

“You’re holding the average citizen to a higher standard than a professional police officer,” said Smith of the decision by Van Nuys Municipal Judge Robert Swasey.

Lemus and an accomplice were surprised by Daniel McDonald’s son Mark, 25, as they broke into a car outside the apartment complex that McDonald manages in the 10600 block of Moorpark Street.

One burglar wielding a screwdriver scuffled with Mark McDonald, who was armed with a club, police testified Friday.

Then Daniel McDonald emerged and unloaded at least seven bullets at the fleeing burglars from his .9-millimeter Glock semiautomatic, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Walmark said. McDonald continued to fire after the burglars jumped into the getaway car and sped off, Walmark said.

Lemus was dropped at a hospital 30 minutes later and died after another two hours.

“He shoots the guy in the back. Therefore, he murdered Mr. Lemus,” Walmark said.

LAPD officers testified that witnesses heard two sets of gunshots, and Smith said McDonald was returning fire from the burglars in self-defense. But LAPD Det. Tim Shaw testified that a middle-aged neighbor heard a burst of gunfire, then “heard someone scream ‘No!’ ”

“Then she heard, ‘Please, no, please, no!’ Then she heard more shots,” Shaw said.

Another detective later testified that Lemus’ partner, Pablo Burgos, said he pretended he had been hit in the hope of persuading McDonald to stop firing.

Mark McDonald told arriving officers that his father had been returning fire, but he changed his story a few minutes later and admitted they had not been shot at, LAPD Officer Dikran Melkonian testified.

Daniel McDonald confirmed he was not shot at, Melkonian said, and had never mentioned other gunfire to homicide detectives. McDonald was arrested on suspicion of murder and held on $1.2-million bail.

Three weeks later, Swasey granted defense requests to release McDonald on his own recognizance, provided that he is monitored electronically by the probation department, does not own handguns and refrains from managing the apartment complex.

Friday, McDonald said residents still complain to him about car burglaries. “I’ve been hit 27 times this year alone,” he said, referring to the number of burglaries of his tenants. “The people still report them to us. But I can’t do anything.”