Ronni Chasen, 64 (Getty Images) |
LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — Police now say the gun used by ex-con in suicide stand–off with officers appears to have been the same one used to kill Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen.
The announcement by Beverly Hills police marks a major break in an investigation that has baffled detectives for nearly a month and stunned Hollywood ever since Chasen was gunned down while driving home from a movie premiere in her Mercedes in November.
Sgt. Mike Publicker described the killing as a “robbery gone bad” committed by Harold Martin Smith, who has a rap sheet dating back at least 25 years.
Police Chief David Snowden also said the gun used by Smith to commit suicide appears to have been used to kill Chasen.
“We believe that Mr. Smith acted alone. We don’t believe it was a professional hit,” he said.
Smith came the to attention of Beverly Hills investigators after a tip on the TV program, “America’s Most Wanted.
Smith bragged about killing Ronni Chasen and was waiting to receive the $10,000 he was promised for the hit, neighbors said.
When detectives tried to question him in the lobby of the Harvey Apartments Wednesday night, he raised a gun to his head and shot himself to death.
Smith had been arrested seven times for crimes ranging from misdemeanor drug possession to felony robbery.
In 1997, he was arrested for misdemeanor disturbing the peace and possession of drug paraphernalia. The records from that arrest show authorities put Smith under a public safety hold because he allegedly threatened to kill a police officer.
In 1998, Smith pleaded no contest to robbing two women in Beverly Hills. He was sentenced to 10 years in state prison and released in 2007.
Then, in August 2009, he was charged with misdemeanor prowling and marijuana possession after he was found loitering outside a woman’s home in Manhattan Beach.
He received a month in county jail and three years of probation. He failed to pay a $100 fine, and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
Parole records show Smith worked as a day laborer after his release, but he was unemployed earlier this year.
He had recently been evicted from the Harvey Apartments.
Police have called Smith a person of interest in the murder of Ronni Chasen, but new ballistics evidence suggests he may not have been the gunman.
Ballistics tests on the gun that Harold Smith used to kill himself showed it was not the gun used to shoot Chasen last month.
Chasen was shot five times in the chest last month near Sunset Boulevard and Whittier Drive while driving home from the premiere of the movie “Burlesque.”
Chasen eventually crashed her car into a light pole.
Listeners to Phil Hendrie’s new local KFI/Los Angeles Jay LenoTed Bell, owner of Ted’s of Beverly Hills Steak House. “I went by his place and everything you said about him was correct,” Leno told Hendrie as he played along with the host. “He’s one of those testy guys. You try to make a constructive criticism and the guy just goes crazy.” Leno went on to join Hendrie and another phone “guest” in a discussion about the need to slow down trains, apparently a heated local issue in Los Angeles. Phil Hendrie also airs nationwide on a reported 100-plus affiliates via his nightly Talk Radio Network nationally syndicated show.
