Probation, Counseling Ordered in ‘Pack Rat’ Case

A North Hollywood man characterized by a fire official as “the worst pack rat” in Los Angeles was placed on probation Monday and ordered to undergo psychiatric counseling.

Don Hyatt Martin, 42, had pleaded guilty to two felony counts of perjury stemming from his having obtained driver’s licenses under phony names. Law-enforcement officials have said that Martin invented many aliases to avoid creditors and police.

Over the years, authorities contend, Martin has dumped tons of junk, ranging from mildewed mattresses to chopped palm leaves to rusty refrigerators, in his San Fernando Valley properties, which are reportedly worth a total of up to $1 million. The refuse attracted rats, the ire of neighbors and the attention of city fire investigators, who traced Martin’s path and claim it is littered with phony IDs, dozens of unlicensed vehicles and garbage.

Martin is scheduled to go to trial Sept. 30 on six misdemeanor charges that he violated health, building, safety and fire codes.

Van Nuys Superior Court Commissioner Alan B. Haber, who imposed Monday’s sentence, ordered Martin to obtain counseling after noting that two court-appointed psychiatrists concluded that he is not criminally oriented but suffers from severe psychological difficulties.

“The defendant does have some mental aberrations,” Haber said. However, he added, “I think there is a bit of truth that the man knows how to take advantage of the system.”

During the sentencing, Michael A. Theule, a Los Angeles Fire Department investigator who has spent two years on Martin’s trail, attempted to convince the commissioner that Martin is a brilliant man who only pretends to be crazy.

“His entire life style shows him to be operating completely outside the law,” Theule insisted. “He is in full control of all his faculties.”

Last April, Theule called Martin the city’s most flagrant pack rat, “no question about it.”

Martin tried to halt the sentencing by retracting his guilty plea, but Haber would not allow it.

“I know other people use names without getting into trouble,” Martin said. “I don’t know what I did wrong.” He said that he researched the charges against him for a month and still does not understand them.

Haber also fined Martin $1,500 and ordered him to pay the fees of the public defender who has represented him and unspecified costs of his incarceration.

When Martin, a demolition contractor, protested that he was broke, the commissioner reminded him that he had earlier acknowledged owning property valued at $500,000 to $1 million.

Fire investigators also allege that Martin owns 50 to 75 vehicles, ranging from an 18-wheel truck to motorcycles.

Testimony in court Monday indicated that he may face more legal problems. Theule said at the sentencing that he learned from U.S. Department of Health and Human Services investigators that Martin received monthly Social Security checks illegally from 1981 until earlier this month.