Pacific Beach

The manager of a Pacific Beach fast-food restaurant was in fair condition Saturday after having been kidnaped, robbed and shot by two thieves who whisked him off a San Diego street and forced him to go with them in a car to Jamul, police said.

The suspects, who accosted the victim on a Pacific Beach street at 10:30 a.m, drove him 25 miles southeast to Jamul, where he was shot but managed to escape, said Bill Robinson, a San Diego police spokesman.

The victim, manager of the Denny’s restaurant on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, was identified only as Bob Lipske. He is in his mid-30s, Robinson said.

Many details of the case--including the reason why Lipske was shot and how he escaped his captors--are unknown.

Lipske was shot in the abdomen, the spokesman said. The wound was not considered critical, although Lipske was expected to spend at least one night at Sharp Memorial Hospital, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Once free in Jamul, Robinson said, Lipske staggered to a fire station, where authorities were notified. He was airlifted to Sharp.

Lipske was robbed of $5,800, the total of restaurant receipts that he was carrying, Robinson said. He was about to deposit them in a Pacific Beach bank when the two suspects approached him as he walked along Garnet Avenue and forced him into the car, which was parked nearby, the police spokesman said.

The vehicle used in the kidnaping has since been recovered, police said.

San Diego police are seeking the two suspects on charges of armed robbery and kidnaping, both felonies. Only vague descriptions were available.