West Hills : Mall Store Closes After 3rd Slaying

Three corpses were too many for Shawn Halimi. Less than a week after the third slaying in the vicinity of his L.A. Tronics store in Fallbrook Mall, Halimi, chief executive of the retail chain, closed the store for good.

“I said this is it . . . it’s the last straw,” said Halimi, who said he closed the store even though five years remained on his $20,000-per-month lease. “There is no hope of improving this store. This place will not attract the customers we want.”

Ryan Willis, 23, of Woodland Hills was shot to death in front of the store last Wednesday after a quarrel with an acquaintance over an apparent stolen gun. Willis was the third person to die in the neighborhood in two years.

In June, Taft High School student Ramtin Shaolian was killed in a drive-by shooting behind the nearby General Cinema Theaters. And in 1993, Oscar William Torres, 29, assistant manager of L.A. Tronics, was killed after he offered a ride to a man who told him his truck had broken down.

“I had just promoted [Torres],” Halimi said, adding that he had just transferred Torres to the West Hills store from one in Torrance. “I have such a guilt feeling over that.”

Fallbrook Mall officials hastened to defend the center’s reputation as L.A. Tronics began carting out merchandise this week. “Fallbrook Mall is a safe place to shop. . . . The incidence of serious crimes there is low,” said mall spokeswoman Sherry DeCovich, adding ruefully: “They [crimes] just have all taken place in the last two months.”

But Halimi said his employees are shaken. An assistant manager who was on the scene of last week’s slaying has asked to be transferred, and when Halimi visited the premises, the store manager greeted him in tears.

Moreover, Halimi said, the store had never really made a significant profit, and had even lost money. “We tolerated it,” Halimi said. But not any more, he said, adding that in a burst of frustration he even posted signs stating the store was being closed because of neighborhood crime.

DeCovich confirmed the signs had been painted over by mall security guards.

All 25 store employees have been offered transfers, Halimi said. There are five other L.A. Tronics stores in the region. Halimi started the chain in Encino in 1980, and expanded it into a $70-million-per-year company.

DeCovich said there are already stores that have shown interest in leasing the L.A. Tronics building. But she was clearly not pleased by Halimi’s decision. “He is very emotional and he’s reacting to an isolated incident. It’s unfortunate,” she said.