Detectives Wound Armed Suspect Outside Robbed Shop

Los Angeles plainclothes detectives shot and seriously injured an armed-robbery suspect Thursday night in front of a Sherman Oaks hair salon, moments after the salon was held up at gunpoint, police said.

Detectives said they were trailing that suspect and two alleged accomplices when the shooting occurred. The three are suspected of committing two armed robberies in the San Fernando Valley in August, said Detective Dan Andrews.

Andrews said Jose Montoya, 43, and Gabriel Lopez, 34, emerged from Ruffles Hair Dressers on Riverside Drive about 8:30 p.m., immediately after the robbery. As they were confronted by five armed plainclothes officers, the men pointed revolvers at the detectives, prompting the detectives to open fire, Andrews said.

The detectives fired 12 rounds from revolvers and two rounds from shotguns, Andrews said. One bullet hit Montoya in the buttocks and lodged in his abdominal cavity. It was not known whether the suspects fired any shots at the detectives, Andrews said. He said there were no other injuries.

Suspects Found Hiding

After the shooting, Montoya and Lopez fled on foot but were found hiding on nearby residential streets in Sherman Oaks, police said. A third suspect, Louis Murrillo, 31, who police said was driving the getaway car, was arrested in his vehicle.

The uninjured men were taken to Van Nuys Jail, where they were held on suspicion of attempted murder, Andrews said. Montoya was taken to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Burbank, where he remained in serious condition Friday night, according to a hospital spokeswoman.

Police said they will seek charges of attempted murder against Montoya when his condition improves. All three suspects are Los Angeles residents.

Police suspect that the three committed two previous armed robberies in the San Fernando Valley, using Montoya’s station wagon as a getaway vehicle. A Hughes Market in Mission Hills was robbed by two men at gunpoint on Aug. 24 and a Ralph’s supermarket in Sunland was robbed on Aug. 26.

Cased Several Markets

Detectives who were trailing the three said they watched them drive around Van Nuys and North Hollywood early Thursday evening, “casing” several markets.

About 8:20 p.m., the suspects’ car pulled into a parking lot adjacent to the Sherman Oaks hair salon, where Montoya and Lopez donned baseball caps, sunglasses and gloves and entered the salon, Andrews said.

Once inside, they pushed the salon’s three patrons and two employees to the floor and told them to cover their faces with towels, according to Gary Morris, owner of the salon.

One employee, who did not want her name used, said she and the other victims immediately complied with the men’s demands for jewelry and money.

‘Scared and Angry’

“I was scared and angry,” she said, “that they have a right to infringe on other people like that.”

When the suspects walked outside, Morris said, “It was gunfire all over the place.”

Police said detectives recovered $100 and jewelry taken in the robbery. Lopez and Murrillo will be arraigned early next week, police said.