The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 379

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1992 LOS ANGELES TIMES VALLEY NEWS 'Harry's Haven' RICARDO DeARATANHA Los Angeles Times Kirk Douglas, son Peter, left, and director Jeff Kanew talk after dedicating "'Harry's Haven," the Motion Picture and Television Fund's expanded Alzheimer's unit in Woodland Hills. Kirk and Anne Douglas' $1-million gift helped finance expansion. Obituaries Amatuzio, Anthony, 86, of Sherman Oaks, retired real estate agent. Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary, North Hollywood. Baucom, Betty Pringle, 72, of Cahoga Park, retired Los Angeles County probation officer.

Gates, Kingsley Gates Mortuary, Canoga Park. Bell, Louise 0., 95, of Chatsworth, retired secretary. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Glendale. Brown, Frank 80, of Burbank, retired research engineer. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Hollywood Hills.

Evan 62, of Agoura Hills, automotive parts store manager. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village. Chung, In Myung, 51, of Reseda, retired U.S. Army sergeant. Pierce Brothers Meyer Mortuary, Van Nuys.

-Cooper, William Hugh, 76, of Lancaster, retired mechanical engineer for Lockheed Corp. HalleyOlsen Funeral Chapel, Lancaster. Davis, George Francis, 68, of Lancaster, flight -line technician for U.S. civil service. Murphy Mortuary, Lancaster.

Ferguson, Constance, 67, of Glendale, secretary. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Glendale. Gelfo, David 19, of Palmdale, clerk for Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. Eternal Valley Mortuary, Newhall. Hakopian, Amania, 59, of Glendale, hairdresser.

Forest Lawn Mortuary, Glendale. Hanasab, George, 36, of Woodland Hills, manufacturing business owner. Groman-Eden Mortuary, Mission Hills. Hoefner, Marguerite 76, of Glendale, retired licensed vocational nurse. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Glendale.

Kelly, Kit 35, of Studio City, planner for ITT. Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary, North Hollywood. Kibbons, R. Steven, 41, of North Hollywood, audio engineer. Praiswater Funeral Home, Van Nuys.

Kinderman, Jesusa 49, of Northridge, Eastern Illinois University professor. Bastian Perrott Mortuary, Northridge. McCallister, Annie, 90, of San Fernando, homemaker. San Fernando Mortuary, San Fernando. McCoy, June Fay, 80, of Sun City, formerly of North Hollywood, homemaker.

Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary, North Hollywood. Najarian, Virginia Manasian, 76, of Burbank, homemaker. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Hollywood Hills. Nichols, Sunny 67, of Sunland, machinist. Bade Mortuary, Tujunga.

Rose, Elaine, 90, of Van Nuys, homemaker. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Hollywood Hills. Row, Kurapaty L.K., 81, of Granada Hills, retired rear adiniral in Indian navy. Forest Lawn Mortuary, Glendale. Sandlin, Edward 70, of Westlake Village, motion picture sound editor.

Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village. Schulze, Gilbert 73, of Los Angeles, formerly of North Hollywood, insurance agent. Pierce Brothers Valhalla Mortuary, North Hollywood. Serna, Aurelio, 78, of San Fernando, retired construction worker. San Fernando Mortuary, San Fernando.

Tedesco, Fred 80, of Tarzana, retired baker. J.T. Oswald Mortuary, Reseda. Thomas, Muriel 76, of West Hills, retired assembly worker. Aftercare California Cremation Burial Society, Van Truncale, Margaret Rini, 78, of Tarzana, retired nursing technician for motion picture home hospital.

Gates, Kingsley Gates Mortuary, Canoga Park. Wagner -Smith, Luann, 37, of North Hollywood. Praiswater Funeral Home, Van Nuys. Information on Valley-area deaths is provided by cooperating mortuarles. SLAYING: No Charges to Be Filed Continued from B3 women who are killed nationwide, the one year of counseling, he was one-third are killed by their boyordered to attend Alcoholics Anon- friends or husbands, and the rate is ymous meetings twice a week for a slightly higher in Los Angeles year.

County." He did not attend any of the Bodin said that last year 1,200 to meetings, and warrants were is- 1,400 felony and about 3,500 misdesued for his arrest. meanor domestic violence cases According to court records, were filed in the county. Tammy Lynn Amaya told authorii.es that her husband had also abused her in Arizona -from which they moved to California in late 1990-but Knokey could not Sound Off immediately confirm any prior convictions in that state. The Valley Edition of The Times Lydia Bodin, a deputy district of readers. who specializes in domes- welcomes the views attorney Letters or phone calls should be as tic violence cases, said statistics were not immediately available on brief as possible and are subject to condensation.

Phone your views in the number of cases involving who kill their abusive hus- to 772-3244 or 800-LA TIMES, Ext. women 23244. Letters must include bands. signature, valid mailing address and However, Bodin said the number number. of cases in which women actually telephone Pseudonyms violence and initials will not be used.

Send kill men in domestic cases letters to: Valley Editor, Los Anis low. "If there is going to be a homi- geles Times, 20000 Prairie cide, it is the woman who is going Chatsworth 91311. to be killed," she said. "According to FBI statistics, for every 100 MURDER: Man Sentenced Continued from B3 deadly weapon and the severity of the two stab wounds Bustos inflicted upon Kirkham "clearly outweigh" the fact that Bustos was only 16 when the crime occurred and that he had no previous record of violent conduct. In asking Perez to impose the maximum penalty of life in prison without parole, Deputy Dist.

Atty. Harvey Giss said previous U.S. Supreme Court rulings indicate "the theory that prison rehabilitates is "The paramount concern in sentencing is protection of society," Giss said. "The victim of a homicide becomes nothing but a statistic," he said. "An empty chair and only a mouthful of words from a prosecutor" remain to tell the victim's story.

"Consider the loneliness she went through in the last minutes of her life confronted by strangers in the women's restroom," Giss said. "The hurt in this case is horrible." One of Kirkham's two daughters and her ex-husband also asked Perez for the maximum penalty. "She was a great mother and a kindhearted person who was more like a sister to me," said Natalie O'Donnell, 25. O'Donnell, the mother of three children, including a daughter who was born after Kirkham died, said, "When my children get older, I'll have to explain what happened to their grandmother. I don't know how I'll do that." John Kirkham, who was married to the victim for 18 years before their divorce, said she was "the victim of a horrible crime, but the real victims are my "It is absolutely devastating to think someone can take a human life like that," he said.

Another daughter, Chantel, 17, also was in court, along with two other family members. Bustos' parents, brother, sister and an aunt issued tearful pleas to Perez to show leniency in his sentencing, as well as expressing their sorrow to the victim's family. "My prayers have been with the victim since this homicide happened," Martin Bustos, 44, said. "I feel my son can be rehabilitated and become a good and productive citizen if not given the maximum penalty." Bustos' mother, Arlene, said: "Guillermo's being away from us has hurt me so much, Guillermo and I can talk to each other and he has expressed to me many times how sorry he is for what he has done to two families and his own life. "I beg this court for leniency for my son to come home just one day, just one day, just one day," she said.

After his siblings and aunt made their tearful statements, Bustos stood to speak. Other than two taped confessions played during his trial, it was the first time he addressed the court since his arrest. "I realize what I did was wrong," he said slowly, "and I personally want to apologize to this family. She'll never come home again. I ask for you to forgive me.

"It hurts me very much to see my family come up here. I'm willing to pay for my mistakes," Bustos said. "It would be nice to know I could come home someday --30 years, 40 years, 20 years from now- -and start a new life." CARJACK: 2 Suspects Arrested Continued from B3 sure that might not be because of the media attention it is Detective Mel Arnold, who has taken nine carjacking reports in the Van Nuys area in the last 10 days, agreed. "I firmly believe that the recent upsurge is due to the publicity," he said. "The bad guys are saying, 'Hey, this looks like a good The frequency of carjackings appears to be low compared to other robberies and car thefts, police said.

For example, Detective Rick Jamieson, who investigates robberies in the North Hollywood Division, said only two of 65 robberies in the area this month have been carjackings. President Bush signed a bill Oct. 25 making carjackings a federal crime. Under the law, a carjacking ending in death could result in a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The federal law, which became effective Oct.

27, has not yet been used by federal prosecutors. In Monday's incident, Jackson noted that because the two men already face multiple state charges including attempted murder, it is unlikely the case will be referred to federal prosecutors. Regarding the Oct. 31 killing of Donald Aragon on Blythe Street during an attempted carjacking, detectives expressed frustration last week that the federal government did not appear interested in prosecuting that case. TODD BIGELOW For The Tinies Officer Harry Mintey watches for motorists crossing illegally at Clybourn and Vanowen on Monday.

Police Launch Rail Crackdown Metrolink: A safety program is aimed at educating the public and lowering the accident rate at crossings between Chatsworth and Burbank. By HUGO MARTIN TIMES STAFF WRITER If the threat of death or serious injuries is insufficient to keep motorists and pedestrians from skirting lowered crossing gates when a Metrolink train approaches, police have another deterrent: a fine and possible loss of driving privileges. On Monday, police and state rail safety officials launched a crackdown on violators at railroad crossings between Chatsworth and Burbank -one of several campaigns that will be executed randomly at railroad crossings throughout the Metrolink system. Under the crackdown, officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the Burbank Police Department were placed on a nonscheduled, empty Metrolink train that rolled between stations while officers parked near railroad crossings watched for violators. The officers on the train and on the streets kept in touch using portable radios.

Although Monday's efforts netted only two violators, officials Tomorrow from the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees train safety, said the operation was considered a success because it helped educate the public to the dangers presented by the trains. "It's not so much a sting operation as an education operation," said James McInerney, the utilities commission's Southern California supervisor for the rail safety program, dubbed Operation Lifesaver. Since the safety program began in 1979, the number of railroad crossing accidents statewide has dropped from 693 in 1978 to 309 in 1990. The program also includes safety lessons for students in school. But McInerney said he fears that the expansion of rail transit in Southern California -including the start of Metrolink and the Metro Blue Line services- -may lead to a deadly increase in rail crossing accidents.

"Twenty-five percent of the time, cars crash into the side of a train," he said as he rode on a blue and white Metrolink train, "What does that tell you? It tells you that people are not paying Although accidents have decreased, fatalities have increased from 33 deaths in 1980 to 44 in 1990, the most recent year for which the utilities commission has records. On Monday, Los Angeles police officers issued citations to two motorists who drove around the lowered crossing gates near the Chatsworth station. The citations carry a fine ranging from $90 to $250. But if a driver has an extensive record of violations, a judge can revoke the motorist's license for up to six months. Last month, police participating in a similar crackdown at railroad crossings between Pomona and Baldwin Park netted 34 violators.

Police issued another 54 citations during a crackdown last year on the Blue Line between Long Beach and downtown Los Angeles. After the crackdown Monday morning in Chatsworth, the train rolled into Burbank, where it was boarded by Burbank Police Officer Chris Topolovich, who watched for violators from the forward window of the train while reporting what he saw into a portable radio. Meanwhile, Topolovich's partner, Officer Harry Mintey, raced ahead of the train on motorcycle to the next railroad crossing, all the time listening to Topolovich describe the scene on his radio. Near a railroad crossing at Empire and Vanowen streets, Mintey parked behind a fence along a driveway and watched. When the warning lights at the crossing began to blink and the gates started to lower, two cars quickly dashed across.

But once the gates were down, traffic came to a halt. "The chances are not that great of catching someone doing something stupid in the daytime," Mintey said with a shrug. Events of Wednesday Emotional Support--Emotions tion 818-361-1735). Blvd. (free; information Anonymous, a support group for Alive 818-885-5302).

people wishing to improve their Center will offer -The Fully self-es- Teenemotional health, will meet; 7:30 to a class on Ager Support--FACTS 9 p.m.; Saint Mark's Episcopal teem; 8 to 10 p.m.; 18554 Sherman (Families Anonymous, Concerned Church, 14646 Sherman Way, Way, Reseda (donations; informa- Teens), a support group teenfor tion 818-609-1987). agers ages 14 to 19, will meet at a Room 2, Van Nuys (free; information 818-988-7180). private residence; 7 p.m. (free; Stroke Support--The Stroke information and location Homeowners Meeting--The Support group, for stroke survivors 818-716-8645). Sherman Oaks Homeowners Assn.

and their family care givers, will will hold a community meeting; 8 meet; 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.; Valley Parent Support--The Parents p.m.; Union Federal Savings, 13300 Hospital, 14500 Sherman Circle, Support Group, for the parents of Ventura Sherman Oaks Van Nuys (free; information children using alcohol and other (free; information 818-995-4444). 310-575-1699). drugs, will meet; 7 to 8:30 p.m.; National Council on Alcoholism Republican Women- -Reseda- Seniors Club--The Valley Beth and Drug Dependence of the San Tarzana Republican Women will Shalom Senior Citizens Club will Fernando Valley, 14557 Friar hold a luncheon meeting; 11 a.m.; meet; 9 a.m.; 15739 Ventura Van Nuys (free; information Braemar Country Club, 4001 Rese- Encino (free; information 818-997-0414). da Tarzana information 818-788-6000). and reservations 818-998-4299).

Folk Dancing -The West Valley Women's Support--The Guid- Jewish Community Center will ofSupport Group--The Alliance for ance Center at Temple Beth Hillel fer Israeli folk dance 7:15 the Mentally Ill, a support group will offer women's support group an class; p.m. beginners, 8 p.m. intermediate for the families of mentally ill meetings; 10:30 a.m. and 7:30 p.m.; Mental 12326 Riverside Drive, North Hol- 22622 West dancers; Vanowen people, will meet; 7:30 p.m.; Hills ($6.50, $5 members; informaHealth Center, 6740 Kester lywood (donations; information tion 818-587-3300). Van Nuys (free; information and reservations 818-762-4817).

818-503-2150). Family Support- ughlove, a Women's Barbershop--The Ver- parent and Toastmasters Club--The Bur- dugo Hills Showtime Chorus, bar- will 7:30 Shadow support teen-ager bank Media Center Toastmasters group, meet; p.m.; bershop harmony for women, will Hills Presbyterian Church, 10158 Club will meet; 6:45 p.m.; McCam- meet; 7 p.m.; Masonic Temple, La Johanna Sunland (free; inbridge Park, 1515 N. Glenoaks Crescenta and Montrose avenues, formation 818-352-6746). Room 2B (free; information La Crescenta (free; information 818-240-1220). 818-848-2467).

Cancer Support--The Social Services Department of Sherman Hope Chapter--The Pearls of Valley Harmonettes- Valley Oaks Hospital and Health Center Hope Chapter for the City of Hope Harmonettes, a women's choral will offer a cancer support will hold a luncheon meeting; 10 group seeking new members, will members group a.m.; Western Federal Bank, 12175 meet; 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.; Woodland friends; 6:15 to 7:30 for patients, family and p.m.; 4929 Van Ventura Studio City Hills United Methodist Church, information and reservations 5650 Shoup Ave. (free; information 818-981-7111). Nuys Blvd. (free; information 818-983-1445). 818-222-6727).

Tikvah Chapter- -B'nai B'rith Cancer Support--The Holy Open Auditions--The Santa Clarita Chamber Singers will hold Women, Tikvah Chapter No. 1737, Cross Medical Center will offer a auditions for experienced will meet for a program on "Ethio- support group for cancer patients open choral singers who read music; 7 pian 19720 Ventura in Tarzana p.m.; and spouses and family members of p.m.; Arroyo Seco Junior High Jews 7:45 those with cancer; 6 to 7:30 p.m.; School, 27171 Vista Delgado Drive (free; information 818-591-1436). 15031 Rinaldi Mission Hills (free; information and appointBook RevieW- Valley Store- (free; information 818-898-4604). ments 805-252-1930). front, Jewish Family Service, will Family Support- -Toughlove, a Open Auditions--The Burbank' offer a book review of Ruth Jhabu- parent and teen -ager support Civic Light Opera will hold Beau- group, will meet; 7:30 p.m.; Canoga auditions for 1992-93 open ala's "In Search of Love and its season; 1:30 p.m.; 12821 Victory Park High School, 6850 Topanga 7:30 p.m.; McCambridge Park, 1515 North Hollywood (free; informa- Canyon (free; information N.

Glenoaks Blvd. (free; informaBlvd. tion 818-984-1380). 818-222-6323). tion 818-985-7312).

Co-Dependency Seminar- -The Community Education--The ProCalifornia Assn. of Marriage and gram for Problem Dependencies, Items for the Valley Edition's daily Family Therapists will offer a sem- sponsored by Northridge Hospital calendar of events should be received inar on 7 to 8:30 Medical Center, will offer a com- one week before the event. Please adp.m.; Coldwater Canyon Hospital, munity education program on alco- dress items to Tomorrow, Los Angeles 6421 Coldwater Canyon hol and drug abuse and co-depen- Times, 20000 Prairie Chatsworth North Hollywood (free; informa- dency: 7:45 p.m.; 18420 Roscoe 91311..