Police Say Rent Money the Aim of Holdup Ruse : Investigation: Suspects faked hostage-taking in store robbery, Huntington Beach authorities say.

Two teen-age roommates, who robbed a Radio Shack by dressing one of them as a woman and pretending he was a hostage, told police they did it because their rent was due Wednesday, authorities said.

The plan, police said, went like this: The 17-year-old would go in drag and jet black wig to the store in the 18500 block of Beach Boulevard Tuesday evening, followed by his 19-year-old roommate a few minutes later. The older youth would announce a robbery and grab a “hostage,” played by his friend, Lt. Dan Johnson said. Holding a knife to his hostage’s neck, the robber would demand cash.

“He says to the clerk, ‘If you don’t give me all the money, the [expletive] is going to get cut,” Johnson said. “The clerk handed over the money, and they both ran out the back door of the store.

“Unfortunately, one of our sergeants, Sgt. R.K. Miller, happened to be driving behind the store.”

The teen-agers ran in different directions, chased by police. The younger one was found in the bushes of a church in the 18600 block of Chapel Lane, Johnson said. The wig was found behind a toilet at the church.

He led police to William Shayne Iles, who was arrested about 8 p.m.

The teen-agers, who live in Huntington Beach, were arrested on suspicion of robbery and criminal conspiracy. Iles was held at Huntington Beach City Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail, and the juvenile, whose name was withheld because of his age, was booked into Juvenile Hall, Johnson said.

Police said Iles, a former employee who had been fired from the Radio Shack targeted in the holdup, and his friend needed $700 to pay their rent. Police said $370 was taken in the foiled robbery.