Victim Slams Door in Gunman’s Face

An attempt by an armed robber in Lakewood to steal a man’s car was foiled when the victim slammed his door shut in the suspect’s face, authorities said Tuesday.

The robber had knocked on the front door of a house on Hyter Avenue at 10:30 p.m. Monday and was answered by the resident, George Wilder, 50, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Dan Cox said.

With the door open, the robber pointed a sawed-off shotgun at Wilder and demanded the keys to his car, Cox said. Instead, Wilder slammed the door in the robber’s face. The robber fired a round through the door but missed Wilder, Cox said.

Hubert Rouse, a California Highway Patrol officer who was off duty and lives nearby, confronted the gunman and two alleged accomplices.

The three men fled after Rouse fired a shot, but deputies later captured the alleged accomplices--Troy Black, 27, of Lakewood, and Dana Smith, 21, of Los Angeles, and booked them for investigation of robbery. The gunman was still at large.