Motorist Shot to Death After Leaving Card Game
A man on his way to a friend’s home Monday after playing in a high-stakes card game at a Gardena club died minutes after he used his car phone to tell police that he thought robbers were on his tail.
Thomas Welsome, 51, of San Juan Capistrano, died at Gardena Memorial Hospital shortly after the shooting. Torrance police received a call about 2:30 a.m. from a man who said that he and a woman friend--who were in separate cars--were being followed by two suspects, said Torrance Police Lt. Jim Herren.
Police officers sent to the area spotted two men, who were on foot and got away. Meanwhile, other officers found the victim’s car, which had run into a parked car, Herren said. Welsome was in the driver’s seat and had been shot several times in the upper body, said Torrance Police Sgt. Ron Traber.
“He was not robbed, but we believe robbery was the intent of the suspects,” Traber said.
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