Reward Offered in Armored Car Guard’s Death : Crime: Home Depot and the victim’s employer say they will pay a total of $35,000 for information in the killing and robbery at the San Fernando store.

Home Depot and an armored car company offered $35,000 in rewards Thursday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killers of a courier who was shot to death during a robbery in San Fernando this week.

The announcement came as investigators released composite drawings of the two robbers and their distinctive getaway car and asked that anyone who was in the Foothill Boulevard store during or shortly before Monday’s shooting contact authorities.

Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Lt. Thomas Johnston said more than 200 customers were believed to have been in the store at the time of the shooting. Though many of them provided their names to investigators before leaving after the 3 p.m. shooting, Johnston said others left before police arrived. Even customers who were in the store before the shooting may have key information about the robbers, he said.

Sectran Security Transportation guard Edwin Maldonado, 26, of Pasadena was shot to death during the robbery and a customer was slightly injured by a stray bullet. Two gunmen escaped through a rear door and drove off in a highly polished, mustard-yellow Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a crease in the driver’s side front fender.

Home Depot announced a $25,000 reward in the case and Sectran added $10,000 in reward money for information that leads to a successful prosecution, officials said.

The getaway car’s appearance--including custom chrome wheels and front grill, and possibly a low suspension--may help authorities. “Wherever it is, it should stand out,” said Sheriff’s Detective Joe Raffa, whose department is aiding the San Fernando Police Department in the investigation.

Investigators are also in the process of comparing the drawings of the robbers and the methods they used to those in other armored car robberies in recent years.

Johnston said investigators “feel very strongly” that the two robbers were involved in a robbery of an armored car guard earlier this year in Santa Monica but added that connecting cases is difficult because methods used in such robberies are almost always similar.

Maldonado, a former Pasadena police officer, was the driver of an armored car during a robbery of his partner two years ago inside a Home Depot in Van Nuys. He was uninjured, but his partner, Gregory Alaimo, 26, was shot in the hand and permanently disabled. Johnston said detectives have established no firm links between the two robberies.

Home Depot security policies have come under fire from Alaimo. He is suing the hardware chain, contending that armored car guards are easy targets in the stores because of policies forbidding them from carrying their weapons as a deterrent against robbers.

Home Depot officials have refused to discuss security policies, saying in a statement Thursday that to do so could compromise store security. The statement said the company and Sectran are calling on other Los Angeles-area retail chains “to join forces to explore ways of reducing the chances” of similar crimes occurring.