Deputies kill jewelry store robbery suspect
Orange County sheriff’s deputies shot and killed a suspected robber in a Mission Viejo mall parking garage Sunday after the man fired a gun at authorities.
According to sheriff’s spokesman Ryan Burris, the suspect disguised himself with a wig, carried a handgun and attempted to rob the Fredric H. Rubel jewelry store in The Shops at Mission Viejo.
About 5:30 p.m., mall patrons reported “strange behavior from the jewelry store employees,” Burris said. “They were standing back from the jewelry cases with their hands at their sides.” He said the suspect ransacked the store’s cases and then fled.
Deputies recovered a briefcase the man was carrying but did not say whether it contained stolen merchandise.
Deputies confronted the man outside the mall, Burris said, where he fired shots from behind a parked car. Deputies returned fire. The suspect was pronounced dead at Mission Hospital.
The district attorney’s office is investigating the shooting, Burris said.
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