UNIVERSAL CITY : Man Pleads Not Guilty in MCA Tower Shooting Spree
John Brian Jarvis, a 58-year-old loner described by a prosecutor as a “very disturbed individual,†was charged Thursday with 16 felony counts for the shooting spree Tuesday at MCA World Headquarters in Universal City that left seven women injured.
In a 43-second appearance in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Jarvis pleaded not guilty to nine charges of shooting at an occupied building and seven of assault with a deadly weapon. Commissioner John Ladner set Jarvis’ preliminary hearing for May 4.
A gunman alternately pumped bullets from a high-powered rifle into the entertainment conglomerate’s 15-story “Black Tower†and swigged from a bottle of bourbon Tuesday before surrendering to Los Angeles police.
Two women working in the building were wounded by bullets and five were cut by flying glass.
Police identified the gunman as Jarvis, a former MCA employee, and said he was in despair over his inability to find work.
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