Tustin Police Arrest Suspect in Slaying of 3

Four days after the execution-style murders of three young employees at an auto parts store, police Thursday arrested a former employee in connection with the brutal slayings.

Gregory Allan Sturm, 21, of Tustin was taken into custody in an early morning raid at his girlfriend’s house in Riverside and taken after extensive questioning to Orange County Jail, where he was held without bail on three counts of suspicion of murder and three of suspicion of robbery, police said.

Police said they believe that Sturm, who was recently fired for theft, ordered the three employees into a back room at the Super Shops store at 100 N. Tustin Ave., tied them up and killed them, then took about $1,100.

“We feel the motive was robbery to support a cocaine habit,” Tustin Police Chief William D. Franks said at a news conference Thursday night.

“It is our belief that (Sturm) was in flight at the time of arrest,” he said.

Police have said they believe the killings occurred shortly after the store was closed Sunday.

The bodies of the three employees--Chad Chadwick, 22, of Orange, Darrell Esgar, 22, of Huntington Beach, and Russel B. Williams, 21, of Seal Beach--were discovered Monday when the store was opened by the manager.

Gregg Koechlein, president of the Newport Beach-based Super Shops chain, immediately offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect or suspects. The chain has 154 stores nationwide,

As a result of the reward, police said they received about 50 phone calls about the slayings. Police said they were evaluating the tips and trying to determine whether anyone qualifies for the reward.

Franks said Sturm worked at the store when it first opened about three months ago, and was recently fired for “theft and inappropriate conduct.” Franks did not elaborate.

Franks said Sturm knew the victims. However, he said, there apparently was “no animosity” between them. He said Sturm had a minor police record.

Investigators were led to Sturm after an unidentified employee of the Super Shops store told police that he had loaned his .38-caliber handgun to Sturm sometime before the killings and that the weapon was returned Sunday night. Investigators determined through ballistics tests that the gun was used in the killings.

Although detectives believe Sturm acted alone, the investigation is continuing, police said.

Sturm had about $400 of the stolen money on him when he was arrested at his girlfriend’s house, Franks said. Police declined to identify the girlfriend.

In addition, Sturm’s fingerprints were found at the crime scene, but they may have been left there when he was still an employee, Franks said.

Sturm is scheduled to be arraigned today.

The investigation capped four days of grueling investigative work by seven Tustin detectives, Franks said. It was solved with “skill, luck and fortuitous circumstances,” he said.

“This was the most vicious, cold-blooding killing that I have seen in 20 years of law enforcement,” Franks said. “I’m very very pleased to announce that we have an arrest.”

Franks said Sturm fired a total of four shots at his victims, shooting from both in front of and behind the victims, who were bound with tape and seated in chairs.

Lyndeth Esgar, the mother of victim Darrell Esgar, said in a brief telephone interview that she was “relieved that somebody was arrested.” She said part of that relief comes from knowing that no one else could now get hurt.

Meanwhile, a new crew of workers has reopened the auto parts store, as several of the employees who worked with the three victims have taken time off.

“It’s not like falling off a horse. You can’t jump right back in it,” said Rick LaBare, a salesman at the store, who along with the store manager discovered the bodies. “For my own personal mental sanity, I want to have the time to just think.”

LaBare said he, too, was relieved that an arrest had been made, but he declined further comment.

The memorial service for Chadwick is scheduled for today at 11 a.m. at Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa.

The funeral for Esgar is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Huntington Beach. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that contributions be made to a scholarship fund established in Esgar’s name at Edison High School in Huntington Beach.

Funeral information for Williams was not available.

Times staff writers Eric Lichtblau and Lucy Chabot contributed to this report.