Shop Owner Won’t Face Charges in 2 Killings
A West Los Angeles watch shop owner who has shot and killed five would-be robbers at his business will not be charged in the killings of two armed assailants earlier this month, a prosecutor said Friday.
Lance Thomas, 51, owner of The Watch Co. in West Los Angeles, and his clerk “acted in reasonable self-defense” when they killed Tremichael Garrett, 19, and a 17-year-old youth who pulled guns and tried to rob the store on Feb. 20, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Jim Zeigler.
Thomas could not be reached for comment and his clerk’s name was not released. The businessman has been wounded in two previous robbery attempts in the past two years.
Ruth McNair, the mother of two other men killed by Thomas, has filed a wrongful death suit against him and the city in connection with the deaths.
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