Suspect in McDonald’s Standoff Ordered to Trial
A man who police mistakenly thought was holding hostages at a McDonald’s in La Verne was ordered to stand trial Tuesday on robbery charges stemming from a holdup at a clothing store near the fast-food restaurant.
After a preliminary hearing, Pomona Municipal Court Judge Tom Peterson ruled there was sufficient evidence to prosecute Douglas E. Girard, 32, of San Jacinto, on three felony counts. Girard’s arraignment was set for Oct. 23 in Pomona.
Girard was arrested Sept. 24 after a seven-hour standoff in which police and sheriff’s SWAT teams surrounded the restaurant in the belief that Girard was holding 20 people hostage. But after talking with the McDonald’s customers, prosecutors decided that Girard never brandished his gun nor made any threats and was only trying to blend in with the customers to avoid detection by police.
Police said they linked Girard to a $200 holdup at a Kids Mart store across the street from the McDonald’s and an earlier $50 robbery at a Claremont florist shop.
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