Jury Convicts Man in Death of Car Thief

A jury convicted a North Hollywood apartment manager Friday of second-degree murder for shooting a fleeing car burglar in the back during an early morning confrontation.

After deliberating a day and a half, the jury convicted Daniel Bernard McDonald, 46, of firing the shot that killed 23-year-old Henry Lemus as Lemus tried to steal a car outside the apartment building that McDonald managed.

McDonald now faces a sentence of 15 years to life in prison for the Dec. 7 shooting--the second of two incidents last year in which a resident fatally shot a man committing a street crime.

Months earlier, a Sun Valley man fatally shot an 18-year-old graffiti vandal who the man said had threatened him with a screwdriver. In that case, William Masters was convicted of a misdemeanor gun charge and sentenced to probation.

Defense attorney Brian Smith called Friday’s verdict a textbook example of why people don’t get involved in stopping crime in America, citing the fear that they themselves could end up behind bars.

“Here’s an upstanding member of the community who did exactly what anyone else would have done in the same situation when he sees two men committing a crime before his eyes,” Smith said.

“Now he’s going to jail for it. If this is law, then the law is not just. I don’t even believe it’s a correct application of the law.”

Moments after the verdict, McDonald was surrounded by tearful family members and then taken into custody by sheriff’s deputies. McDonald had been confined to his home under electronic surveillance during the trial, Smith said.

“Danny’s in a state of shock,” Smith said. “He just can’t understand the verdict.”

Jurors heard two versions of the events that occurred on the fog-shrouded street just after 3 a.m. the day of the shooting.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard Walmark told the jury that McDonald and his son, Mark, had surprised Lemus and a second man as they broke into a car outside the apartment complex in the 10600 block of Moorpark Street.

In the predawn darkness, one burglar wielded a screwdriver and scuffled with Mark McDonald, who was armed with a club, prosecutors said. Daniel McDonald then emerged and fired at least seven shots at the fleeing burglars from his .9-millimeter Glock semiautomatic. McDonald continued to fire after the burglars jumped into a getaway car and sped off.

McDonald, described by neighbors as a crusader against car theft, had claimed that the neighborhood had repeatedly fallen victim to burglaries and break-ins, crimes in which he said the police failed to respond.

Smith told jurors McDonald was a father protecting his son, who had been stabbed twice with a screwdriver. He said the burglars had shot first, which prosecutors denied.

“Danny was under fire and Danny returned fire,” Smith said. “Both he and his son were under attack.”

Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 11 and Smith said he will appeal.

“Here’s the message this jury has sent to the community,” Smith said. “If you do anything in defense of yourself or property or come upon some crime on the street, you better just do nothing. That’s what Danny should have done.

“If he had ignored the crime, if he had just stayed in bed, he’d be home tonight.”