DA: No gun, no casing, no bullet hole, no case against Castaic woman

One of several deputies dispatched to the scene of a woman barricaded inside a building where shots were fired. Signal photo by Austin Dave
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Without a gun, without bullet casings, without a bullet hole, prosecutors reviewing the attempted murder case against a Castaic woman accused of firing shots from inside her apartment have decided not to prosecute.

In a “charge-evaluation worksheet” prepared by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, prosecutors concluded: “Without physical evidence, however, there is insufficient evidence to prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Linda Myers, 60, of Castaic, was detained following a 7-hour standoff with sheriff’s deputies in Castaic Friday, after deputies reportedly heard shots fired from her apartment.

She was subsequently arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after she was led from the Castaic Lake Senior Village building on Castaic Road, just north of Lake Hughes Road.

In their review of the case, prosecutors prepared a narrative of what happened that night.

They wrote: “On Sept. 14, Los Angeles County Sheriff Department deputies received a ‘check the welfare’ call at a senior living apartment complex in Castaic that stated the suspect (Linda Myers) had said that someone was after her.

“Responding deputies were aware that Ms. Myers was a habitual caller to the SCV Sheriff’s Station. Deputies knocked on the door and announced themselves as ‘Sheriff’s Department.’ Both deputies were in LASD uniforms and stood in front of the door peep hole.

“Through the closed door, deputies asked ‘Linda, are you ok?’ A female voice sternly replied, ‘It’s Ms. Myers.’ The deputies again asked if she was OK. When deputies realized Ms. Myers would not open the door, the deputies turned on their own personal recording audio-video device to document that Ms. Myers was safe and in her apartment.

“Once the recorder was activated, deputies continued to attempt to communicate with Ms. Myers and ascertain is she was OK. Deputies asked if she could hear them. Ms. Myers yelled at them to ‘leave.’

“Deputies responded by asking if anyone was following her. After several seconds of silence, deputies again called out to her by her first name. After a few more seconds, deputies heard a gunshot coming from inside Ms. Myers apartment. Both deputies retreated believing they were taking gunfire and broadcast ‘shots fired’ and requested additional units.

“The deputies took positions of safety and kept their eyes on Ms. Myers apartment. They never saw anyone emerge from the apartment nor did they hear any further noise from the apartment. At no time during this entire incident did deputies ever order Ms. Myers to exit her apartment or open her door.

LASD Special Enforcement Bureau responded  to the location and after several hours they were successful in getting Ms. Myers to emerge from her apartment at which point she was taken into custody.

“A search warrant was signed and detectives (who)  searched Ms. Myers apartment and the surrounding areas. Detectives were not able to locate a firearm, a bullet strike mark, or a shell casing.

“The audio/video recording was reviewed and what sounds like a gunshot can be heard during the deputies’ attempts to check on the welfare of Ms. Myers.”

The DA’s charge evaluation worksheet was dated Monday.

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