3 Killed in Holdup of Armored Car Firm

Gunmen robbing an armored car company warehouse killed three workers execution-style before fleeing when other employees stumbled onto the holdup, an official said Thursday.

A special state Justice Department team helped police comb the warehouse and surrounding area, and the FBI was assisting in the investigation of Wednesday night’s killings, Police Chief Jerry Galvin said.

Investigators have determined that two or more gunmen were involved in the holdup at the Loomis Armored Inc. warehouse, where drivers drop off money to be deposited in banks, Galvin said.

Galvin said he could not say how much, if any, money was taken. “Obviously, the motivation is the money,” he said.

The coldblooded nature of the killings puzzled police, Galvin said.

“I can say they were executed. They were defenseless at the time they were shot. You can conclude from that that they were bound,” Galvin said. “As to why they were executed, I can’t even speculate on that sort of an atrocity.”

The robbery was interrupted when another truck pulled up, Galvin said.

Through an open warehouse door, two drivers returning from a delivery saw an employee lying on the floor and money bags in the doorway. They left and called police, Galvin said.

Galvin declined to release any other information provided by the witnesses, saying that it could jeopardize the investigation.

Loomis officials declined to discuss details of the company’s day-to-day operation.

The dead were identified as Dennis Jacobson, 29, of Vallejo; Alphonso Lontayo, 25, of Vallejo, and Martin McCumber, 49, of Fairfield, who died at the hospital.

A Loomis truck was the target of robbers in Fresno in September, when two men killed a Loomis guard as he delivered money to a check-cashing outlet. Two men were arrested.