2 Men Arrested in Lancaster Kmart Robbery Attempt

LANCASTER — Two robbers held nine employees at gunpoint in a Kmart store in Lancaster, trying to walk off with a shopping cart full of money and drawing the gunfire of police before they were arrested, one after hiding in the building overnight, authorities said Monday.

No one was hurt in the takeover-style robbery, the sixth of a Kmart this year by a pair of gunmen wearing ski masks. Police identified the two they arrested, Darren Carter, 32, and Leighton Corothers, 28, of Los Angeles, as possible suspects in the other crimes.

Shortly after closing time, at 9:12 p.m. Sunday, the robbers appeared. All workers were freed by 2:10 a.m. and the last suspect was caught after being bitten by a police dog at 7 a.m. Monday.

The start of the incident was described by Nicole Hall, 25, of Lancaster, a supervisor, who was pushing a cart with money when she encountered an armed man.

“I rounded the corner and he was just there,” Hall said in a telephone interview. “He took my arm and pulled me into the (employee) lounge,” she said. The man pointed his gun at her face, Hall said.

She and co-workers were ordered to lie on the floor.

“They were scared,” Hall said. “He threatened to shoot us.”

At the same time, the other suspect had the night store manager, Bill Goertz, in the adjoining store office.

“I heard the manager talking and then they were gone,” Hall said.

Police said the gunman ordered the manager to open a safe and then lie on the floor while the thief took an undisclosed amount of cash.

The gunmen then ordered the manager to lead them to the closest exit at the rear of the store.

Unknown to the robbers, a Kmart security guard who watched the takeover on monitor cameras contacted the Sheriff’s Department while the robbery was in progress.

When the robbers--pushing a shopping cart filled with a bag of money and holding the manager at gunpoint--emerged from the store, they were confronted by sheriff’s deputies who were waiting for them in the rear parking lot. When the manager saw the deputies, he broke away and escaped by running toward the deputies.

Two sheriff’s deputies, believing a suspect was about to shoot, opened fire with a handgun and shotgun. The robbers, who did not return the fire, fled uninjured back into the store, where nine employees remained. Meanwhile, another nine employees stationed throughout the store were able to escape through various exits.

When they fled back into the store, the suspects did not threaten or hold employees. “There was never a hostage situation,” Sheriff’s Lt. Terry Lewis said.

Carter was arrested by a store security guard shortly after the shooting erupted, despite trying to “blend in with the scene,” Lewis said. A sheriff’s spokesman said Carter went to a security guard and claimed to be a shoplifter who had been locked inside the store after closing. Authorities later determined he was one of the gunmen.

Nine employees, fearful of meeting the robbers, remained inside the store, six in the employee lounge and three in the photo department area.

“They tried to keep away from the gunmen,” Lewis said.

It was a long, harrowing wait for the workers in the lounge.

“We started to come out of the lounge, and then a security guard told us to get back in the lounge because the gunmen were still around,” Hall said.

Those inside barricaded the door by stacking couches against it, according to one employee.

An unloaded handgun and a loaded magazine were found by police inside the store, along with ski masks and the suspects’ clothing, Deputy Gabe Ramirez said. Both Corothers and Carter were being held Monday on bail of $30,000.

Mary Lorencz, a Kmart spokeswoman, said that counseling sessions were being offered to employees and that security measures would be reviewed.

The most recent Kmart robbery took place last month ago in Palmdale. A store manager was struck in the leg by the ricochet of a bullet when a gunman fired several rounds because the manager had difficulty opening the safe, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Sgt. Bob Denham said. During that robbery, as with the previous takeovers, employees were ordered to lie on the floor while thieves took cash from safes.