BRIEFLY : MAN CRITICALLY HURT IN STREET SHOOTING.

SYLMAR - A 28-year-old man was shot multiple times in the chest Friday night in the 11200 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard, police said.

The shooting occurred when a dispute arose between the victim and some men suspected of being gang members, said Sgt. Phil Smith, of the Los Angeles Police Department's Foothill Division.

``It happened in the street,'' Smith said. ``It looks as though gang members were involved. It might have been an attempted robbery.''

When officers arrived, they found the man, whose name was not released, lying in the street. Officers searched unsuccessfully for the gunman.

The victim was transported to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills where he was listed in critical condition, Smith said.

Actor's name forger gets reduced bail

Bail was cut in half Friday for a Tarzana man accused of pretending to be Burt Reynolds' manager to get checks made out to the actor and Reynolds' former wife Loni Anderson, as well as defrauding the LAPD widows and orphans fund.

Bail was set at $104,000 for William Patrick Bentley. Municipal Court Judge S. Patricia Spear postponed Bentley's arraignment until Wednesday to give him time to obtain another lawyer beaause he requested that his be excused.

Bentley is accused of taking $30,000 in fees under false pretenses while acting as coordinator for the 28th annual Police-Celebrity Golf Tournament last year.

Bentley allegedly forged Reynolds' signature on letters, a contract and a check for $20,000 from the Suarez Corp., which wanted to hire the actor to make a personal appearance, the prosecutor said.

He also allegedly forged the signatures of Anderson.

- City News Service

Motley Crue singer sues Rocketdyne

SIMI VALLEY - Vince Neil, the lead singer of Motley Crue sued Rocketdyne, a Boeing test site for rocket engines and fuel and a former home to nuclear reactors, over the death of his daughter.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, claims that Rocketdyne deliberately dumped toxic fuels on property adjacent to Neil's former Simi Valley home, said David Cordrey, Neil's attorney.

In 1995, 4-year-old Skylar Neil died of liver cancer. Workers and residents in the area have been pursuing claims because of increased rates of cancer both at the plant and in the area, Cordrey said.

There is a class-action lawsuit of at least 200 people, he said.

Cordrey said Skylar's cancer was very rare and the cause was unknown.

Rocketdyne ran 10 nuclear reactors at its Santa Susana Field Laboratory from the 1950s to the 1980s. There were several incidents over the years, including a partial fuel meltdown in 1959. Nuclear research at the lab was halted in 1989 but rocket engine and fuel tests continue.

- Associated Press

Call leads deputies to stolen property

LITTLEROCK - Sheriff's deputies responding to a domestic violence call instead found a cache of $100,000 to $150,000 worth of stolen construction equipment, tools and personal watercraft, a sheriff's lieutenant said Friday.

Deputies were called to a home about 11 a.m. on a domestic violence report, said Palmdale sheriff's Lt. Ed Dvorak.

When they arrived, the 30-year-old man suspected of beating his wife fled into the back yard and hid in an outbuilding, Dvorak said. The man's wife suffered minor injuries.

Deputies were unable to find the man, but became suspicious about the large amount of equipment, including tractors, portable generators, washers, construction tools, ladders and two Jet Skis, Dvorak said.

``They asked his wife who the equipment belonged to and she said her husband had a woodworking business and bought the equipment from various people,'' Dvorak said, adding that when officers checked out license plate numbers on the tractors, the equipment came back stolen.

The man, whose name was not released, was still at large Friday night.

- Daily News