Car Thief, 20, Convicted of Murder

A 20-year-old white supremacist who was running from police in a stolen van when he collided with another vehicle, killing the driver, was convicted of murder on Friday.

“Because the defendant didn’t want to face the consequences of car theft, he decided to gamble with the lives of police officers and everyone else who was on the road that night,” Deputy Dist. Atty. David Mintz said. “I think he needed to be held accountable for the loss of life and irreparable harm that he caused the victim’s family.”

Christopher Dehuff faces a maximum penalty of 21 years to life in prison. He is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 9.

Besides second-degree murder, the jury also convicted him of evading police, auto theft, receiving stolen property and driving without a license, Mintz said.

Dehuff’s lawyer could not be reached for comment late Friday afternoon.

Mintz said motorcycle officers decided to stop Dehuff, a member of the San Fernando Valley Peckerwoods gang, when they saw him weaving on Van Nuys Boulevard the night of Oct. 14. They thought he was drunk.

Instead of stopping, Dehuff gave chase, running through a stop sign and at least two red lights and driving without his headlights even though it was 9:30 p.m.

He was going 75 mph when he blew through the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Lassen Street.

“He broadsided the victim’s van with such force that it was lifted off the street and flew through the air. It landed in the intersection on the left side and slid through the rest of the intersection,” Mintz said. “It caught fire while still in the air.”

He said police pulled 26-year-old Rebecca Wageman out of the burning van, but her mother, 44-year-old Linda Wageman, was pinned at her arm between the van and the asphalt. Several officers used fire extinguishers from their cars to try to keep the flames away from the older woman until firefighters arrived, but were unable to save her, Mintz said.

“She burned to death while they watched,” he said.