Hunt Continues for Ice Cream Store Killer : Crime: Police believe gunman was on robbery spree when he fatally shot woman and wounded her husband in Laguna.

With time a crucial factor, the trail remained cold Wednesday in the search for a heavily tattooed man who police say fatally shot a woman and wounded her husband in an ice cream parlor robbery here Monday.

“It is my prediction he’ll continue to commit robberies and, if things don’t go his way, he will most likely do what he did” in Laguna Beach, said Police Chief Neil J. Purcell Jr.

Investigators are receiving some leads from callers, but none has helped identify the man believed to have robbed three businesses in Costa Mesa and Tustin just before entering the Baskin-Robbins in downtown Laguna Beach, where he shot the owners when they refused to give him money.

However, authorities released a freeze-frame photograph of the fugitive, who was pictured by a video camera at the scene of one robbery, hoping it will generate additional calls from the public.

The first 72 hours of an investigation are the “golden hours” because they offer the best chance of gathering information, Police Lt. Danell Adams said.

Investigators got a big disappointment Wednesday when initial hopes faded that the killer might be the same man sought by Los Angeles police in a string of violent crimes, including murder.

Police decided the two weren’t the same man after scrutinizing the videotape, Purcell said.

Meanwhile, the condition of Firooz Roshdieh continued to improve at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo, where he was airlifted late Monday night after being shot in the chest.

Dr. Thomas Shaver, head of the hospital’s trauma unit, said the 62-year-old Roshdieh was stable enough to be moved from intensive care to a regular patient floor.

“He met with friends and family,” Shaver said, but added that Roshdieh is “going through a deep depression over the loss of his wife and friend of 30 years.” Simindokht Roshdieh, 53, was shot in the neck and died soon afterward.

Police say they are increasingly convinced that the Laguna Beach murder was part of a crime spree that began at 8:40 p.m. Monday at Conroy’s Flowers at 2983 Harbor Blvd. in Costa Mesa. Police believe the robber made a second stop at Blockbuster Music at 2280 Harbor 10 minutes later, and was at the Tustin Baskin-Robbins at 13032 Newport Ave. by 9:10 p.m.

They received a frantic 911 emergency call from an off-duty employee at the Baskin-Robbins in Laguna Beach at 9:35 p.m.

The chilling videotape, taken at the Tustin Baskin-Robbins, shows a dark-haired man pointing a gun directly at a male store employee who is drawing back in fear. Witnesses from the other three crime scenes have identified the suspect as the same man who entered their stores, Purcell said.

According to descriptions from Firooz Roshdieh and the unnamed employee, the suspect is a light-skinned Latino, 5 feet, 7 inches tall, aged 19 to 23, with bushy eyebrows. He had a teardrop tattoo under his left eye and Old English-style tattoos along the sides and back of his neck, police said.

*

No one was hurt in the robberies that preceded the gunman’s stop in Laguna Beach. The robber left those businesses with a total of $540. He took no money from the Laguna Beach store.

In a community with little crime, the shootings of the popular immigrant couple shook many people. There were offers of additional contributions to a $500 reward offered by the city for the suspect’s capture. The Baskin-Robbins chain has posted a $10,000 reward.

Laguna Beach Chamber of Commerce President Joe Orsak said Wednesday that the chamber will establish a fund for the family at the Wells Fargo Bank in town within days.

“Even though they were not chamber members, they’re in the business community and we felt this would be a good thing to do,” he said.

In addition, Orsak said the chamber plans to work with police to create a series of classes for merchants on what to do during a robbery. He said small business owners, who are not used to such threats, must learn to be “a little more vigilant” in the future.

“I think the . . . message we’re trying to get out to the business owners is, no town is immune to this type of stuff,” he said.

Police are asking anyone with information about the crimes to call (800) LBPD008.

Times staff writer Leslie Berkman contributed to this report.