3 Arrested in Killing Linked to Merchandise Theft Scheme

Three suspects were arrested Thursday in the slaying of a Van Nuys man, killed by a shotgun blast in the neck following a quarrel stemming from a $500,000 merchandise scam, Los Angeles police investigators said.

Dale Francis, 33, was shot Wednesday morning in the house he shared with his mother, said Lt. George Rock. Arrested in Francis’ death were Richard Jorgenson, 22, of Simi Valley; Kevin Johnson, 22, of Sepulveda, and Jamal Garcia, 22, of Sepulveda. Johnson and Garcia appeared to be hired hit men, not participants in the scam, Rock said.

All three were being held in the Van Nuys Jail on suspicion of murder and were scheduled for arraignment Monday.

Detectives were looking for a fourth suspect identified as Brent Johnson, 23, of Simi Valley.

Brent Johnson is believed responsible for arranging Francis’ slaying, Detective Richard Levos of the Police Department’s bunco-forgery section said. He is not related to alleged gunman Kevin Johnson, Rock said.

Levos said Brent Johnson had stolen about $7,000 in cellular phones from the scam’s mastermind--a convicted confidence man named Richard Bittleman--and stored the merchandise at Francis’ home in Van Nuys. Levos said Francis’ role in the scam was still unclear, but said that Francis had quarreled with Brent Johnson, who was Bittleman’s bodyguard.

Bittleman--who also uses his father’s name, Jack or J.R. Bittleman--was being held in the Orange County Jail on Thursday on unrelated credit-card fraud charges, Levos said.

Bittleman was not believed to be involved in Francis’ death, Levos said. He described Bittleman as an experienced confidence man in his 30s who has served time in state and federal prisons for a number of fraudulent schemes.

In the classic “bust-out” scheme that led to Francis’ death, Levos said, Bittleman obtained wholesale merchandise on credit with no intention of paying for the items. He then resold the merchandise--ranging from computers to building supplies to luxury cars--at enormous profit, Levos said. Between late November and recently, “at least $500,000” in fraudulently obtained merchandise was sold, Levos said.

Creditors were unable to find Bittleman because he used false business names, addresses and references, Levos said. The detective said Bittleman gave out phone numbers for supposed references that actually connected callers to an elaborate phone bank in his home in Bell Canyon, from where he would give himself excellent credit ratings.

Wednesday’s shooting occurred at 3:15 a.m. in the 14000 block of Runnymede Street in Van Nuys.

Kevin Johnson allegedly entered the house with a 12-gauge shotgun, argued with Francis and then shot him from six to eight feet away, Rock said. Francis was pronounced dead at the scene.