Crash Ends With Murder Conviction

A Chatsworth man who killed a 77-year-old Holocaust survivor in a car crash while fleeing police last December was convicted of first-degree murder by a jury Thursday.

James Arthur McMann, 23, showed no emotion as he heard the verdict that included convictions for robbery, burglary, carjacking as well as special circumstances that now make him eligible for life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 9.

“This career criminal had absolutely no regard for any human life in the commission of his crimes,” said David Lenga, husband of victim Charlotte Lenga. “He didn’t care who was in his path and who he was going to kill in his escape from justice.”

On Dec. 15, 2000, police saw McMann in Northridge driving a white van that fit the description of a vehicle used in a string of burglaries. McMann sped away and led patrol officers and a police helicopter on an hourlong chase, driving up to 90 mph through residential neighborhoods, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. John Nantroup Jr.

McMann crashed into an apartment building in Panorama City, then jumped into a sports utility vehicle in the garage after taking the keys from a tenant. He drove the SUV through the garage door, ignored a police barricade and rammed a patrol car out of his way, Nantroup said.

Charlotte Lenga was turning her car into a post office parking lot in Encino when the Chevrolet Suburban McMann was driving crashed into her car head-on. Lenga died at the scene.

McMann’s attorney, Lisa-Marie Krause, presented no witnesses during the trial before Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Warren G. Greene. She could not be reached for comment.

San Fernando jurors, who deliberated 2 1/2 hours, said that they were impressed by the prosecution’s evidence and that their swift verdict summed up their feelings about McMann and what he did.

“There’s not a lot of sympathy for the defendant,” said juror Andrew Long, a production artist. “He continued to make a string of bad decisions and showed blatant disregard for public safety.”

David Lenga, who was married to Charlotte for 55 years, said nothing could make up for the loss suffered by the family.

“My wife was a victim of the Holocaust. She survived Hitler. But she could not survive this criminal’s activities,” Lenga said. “She was so brutally taken away from us. We have never recovered from the pain.”