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Wounded Man Held in Attempted Jewelry Store Heist

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested a Los Angeles man suspected of trying to rob a Lake Forest jewelry store last week and suffering wounds in a shootout.

Gregory Wafer, 26, was booked into Orange County Jail on Monday on suspicion of attempted murder and attempted robbery.

Wafer sought emergency treatment for bullet wounds at a Downey Hospital less than two hours after a bandit was wounded during a shootout at the 14K Jewelry Mart in the Saddleback Plaza Shopping Center, police said.

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Investigators are still seeking four other suspects.

An armed robber set off the metal detector as he entered the store in the on El Toro Road. Asking the owner if he had a gun, the man pulled a 9-millimeter semiautomatic handgun. The owner, whom authorities did not name, grabbed his own .44-caliber revolver and both men fired. Only the robber was hit.

Police waited until Monday to arrest and removed Wafer to jail because of his wounds. Police said that Wafer was a gang member.

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