Paul Stewart

A 24-year-old Northridge man was fatally shot in the head Saturday afternoon by a longtime friend during a heated argument, Los Angeles police said. Michael Lyons was pronounced dead on arrival at Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills after he was shot once in the head by Robert Kubernach, 26, a friend since elementary school, said Detective Paul Stewart of the Los Angeles Police Department. Stewart said the killing culminated a dispute but was not drug- or gang-related.

An Arleta man has been arrested on suspicion of blinding a motorist with acid during a robbery attempt in September, authorities said Saturday. Henry Gregory Tristan, 42, was arrested Friday on suspicion of throwing acid at Andres Chaidez, 22, of Van Nuys, after Chaidez refused to give him money. Tristan is scheduled for arraignment Monday at Van Nuys Municipal Court on three felony counts of aggravated mayhem, assault with a caustic chemical and robbery, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Ron Smalstig.

A man who tried to rob a 13-year-old of his 10-speed bike Wednesday in Canoga Park was shot three times when the youth pulled out a handgun and opened fire, Los Angeles police said. The youth also shot himself once with the semiautomatic weapon, apparently as the two Canoga Park residents struggled, Detective Paul Stewart said. Neither was seriously injured, Stewart said. The shooting took place about 2:45 p.m.

An aeronautical engineer for the firm that built the helicopter that crashed in the "Twilight Zone" film tragedy testified Tuesday that he does not believe the accident directly resulted from the heat of a special-effects explosion. The testimony from the prosecution expert, Larry W. Dooley of Bell Helicopters, contradicted defense evidence that high temperatures caused the crash in a process known as "heat delamination."

A mechanic who inspected the helicopter that crashed and killed three "Twilight Zone" actors said Thursday that he never realized that the aircraft was going to fly through a fireball and would have advised against it. Harry Thomas Ferguson also told jurors at the manslaughter trial of the helicopter's pilot and four film makers that he worried about a process called delamination damaging the helicopter's rotors the night of the July, 1982, crash.

Paul Stewart, the special-effects coordinator on the "Twilight Zone" film set, ordered that an explosive be placed under a hut in a mock Vietnam village hours after Stewart and director John Landis had decided that such explosives could cripple a low-flying helicopter, according to testimony Tuesday from a special-effects technician. Prosecutors have contended that debris from the explosion contributed to the subsequent helicopter crash that killed actor Vic Morrow and two child actors.

A lighting technician corroborated defendant John Landis' testimony in the "Twilight Zone" manslaughter trial, telling jurors that every scene in the film was preceded by a meeting and a rehearsal. Alan Goldenhar, who was gaffer on the ill-fated 1982 movie, was called by the defense Wednesday to undermine a prosecution theory that poor coordination contributed to an accident in which three died.

A Woodland Hills man was being held without bail Monday after he admitted strangling his wife and dumping her body in the desert near Barstow, police said. Nandan Lal, 25, had reported his wife missing Saturday morning, saying she had left home five days earlier on a business trip and had not contacted him since, Los Angeles Police Detective D. L. Burris said.

A Newbury Park man with a 10-year history of alcohol-related crimes was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for trying to rape two elderly women while on a drinking binge. Superior Court Judge Charles W. Campbell Jr. brushed aside defense suggestions that David Paul Stewart be treated leniently because he cannot control his drinking. While Stewart, 33, is no threat to others when he is sober, he chose to drink even though he knew it would get him into trouble, the judge said.

Danny Ferry, the Clippers' first-round draft choice, met with officials from the Rome team in the Italian pro league last week and discussed a contract, his father said Thursday. Ferry, an All-American from Duke who was regarded by some as the best player in the nation last season, was in Europe as part of a post-graduation vacation. He attended the British Grand Prix with Paul Stewart, a college friend and the son of former race-car champion Jackie Stewart.