Arrest Made in Fatal Hit-and-Run

Months after a north Orange County community rallied to find the person who ran over a popular young Yorba Linda resident with a sport-utility vehicle, police made an arrest this week.

Travis Benton Dixon, 20, of Yorba Linda was being held Friday on suspicion of murder after police received information from people who had finally decided to come forward, Yorba Linda police said.

“We have tried to keep the case in the community forefront,” Lt. Doug Dickerson said. “We suspected someone knew about it. We knew someone would come forward if we didn’t let the case go.”

Dixon is suspected of deliberately running over Daniel Brian How early on Oct. 14 after a fistfight in a remote dry lake bed in Yorba Linda.

How, 22, was drinking beer near Lake-bed Park off Orchard Drive when he exchanged words with some young men. Four of them got into the sport-utility vehicle and the driver chased How and ran him over, according to police.

How’s father, Dennis How, said the arrest came after family, friends and members of the family’s church posted about 500 fliers at local businesses. Several weeks ago, the group rekindled their crusade, hoping one of the four men in the vehicle would come forward and name the driver.

“We wanted to let them stew,” How said. “We wanted it reinforced that this wasn’t going to go away.”

Police searched Dixon’s home in the 21800 block of Heatheridge Drive and arrested him. The light-colored vehicle that police believe was used in the attack was impounded, police said.

About 600 people attended the funeral of How, a 1995 Troy High School graduate who was struggling to get his life on track. His friends and family said he was in the wrong place at the wrong time and his temper probably incited the other men. Even so, they wanted How’s killer arrested.

The group went door to door to post fliers in Placentia, Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda, an effort that police say played a major role in the arrest.

Meanwhile, at Polly’s Pies in Yorba Linda, where the younger How had worked intermittently for several years as a waiter, customers and staff “kept reminding each other that the case was still open,” manager Tony Rodriguez said. “Everyone knew him.”

Investigators also hoped some of the men at the lake bed would step forward to name the driver. Besides the four men in the vehicle, at least two other men were believed to have been in the area at the time of the incident.

Dickerson said the tipsters had been considering coming forward for several days. Then, one day after a local newspaper wrote about the case again, they contacted police.

Dickerson said police will ask the district attorney’s office to file a murder charge against Dixon, who was in custody at Orange County Jail. He was expected to be arraigned early next week.