Parolee Held in Slayings at Shop

A parolee accused of shooting two Van Nuys auto-parts store employees to death in a dispute over a $20 pair of brake pads was arrested by a multi-agency task force at a Canyon Country apartment, authorities said Friday.

Byron Jackson, 40, of Van Nuys was taken into custody without incident at 10:45 p.m. Thursday in the 27500 block of Sierra Highway by a team that included the Los Angeles Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service’s Fugitive Task Force and the state Department of Corrections’ Law Enforcement and Investigative Unit.

Three handguns belonging to Jackson, including one believed to be the murder weapon, were also recovered, said Capt. Bob McNamara of the LAPD’s Van Nuys Division.

Jackson was charged earlier this week with two counts of murder with a special circumstance in connection with the slayings of Carlos Avalos, 44, of Van Nuys and Francisco Mercado, 34, of Pacoima. He was arraigned Friday in Van Nuys Superior Court.

Witnesses said the two victims were shot Sunday after Jackson, a regular customer of the store, was told he could not return brake pads.

Investigators said that Jackson left the store and later returned, driving a different vehicle and wearing different clothes, and fired several shots at the two employees.

Authorities traced that vehicle’s license plate and then tracked down a known associate of Jackson’s in Canyon Country, setting up a surveillance of the associate’s residence.

They moved in Thursday night and in minutes negotiated Jackson’s surrender, McNamara said.

Jackson, who is being held without bail, has a criminal record with at least three felony convictions, including assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and armed robbery, McNamara said.

He added that Jackson has been in and out of state prison since the 1980s.