Guard Hit by Suspects’ Car in Botched Robbery

A 65-year-old security guard was clinging to life Thursday after being hit by the car of two men who were foiled in an alleged attempt to rob market.

The guard, Ramiro Torres, had drawn his gun on one of the men late Wednesday when the other drove into him, knocking him 40 feet and causing massive head injuries and several broken bones.

Witnesses and police said Torres was trying to protect the Bestway Supermarket’s owner and clerk, who were being accosted by the suspects.

Police arrested brothers David and Marco Villalobos of Anaheim, ages 19 and 23, respectively, on suspicion of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and attempted robbery, said Orange County Sheriff’s Investigator Steve Doan.

The guard’s wife, who declined to give her name, said at the hospital that “he doesn’t have any vices, he doesn’t smoke, he does nothing but work.”

Torres, of Compton, worked the 4 to 11 p.m. shift several days a week, and had been on the job for about a month, said Rick Compean, the store’s director. He was hired to keep the parking lot clear of loiterers and to protect the store from theft, Compean said.

Before becoming a guard, Torres worked as a gardener, his wife said. He has three grown children in East Los Angeles and El Monte.

“He could be anybody’s grandfather,” Compean said.

The robbery attempt began at 11:30 p.m.

After closing for the night, market night manager Julio Barrios got in his car and was going to give one of the clerks a ride home.

Before the clerk reached the car, Barrios saw a man approaching his car wearing a hockey mask and gloves, said Jim Amormino, a spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.

Barrios locked the doors before the clerk could get in and the suspect began trying to break the car’s windows. Barrios drove off and with the suspect chasing him through the parking lot.

When the suspect tripped, Torres held him at gunpoint, Doan said.

However, deputies said, the other suspect had started his car and drove into Torres at about 30 mph.

Both suspects then fled in the car, which crashed into several vehicles as Anaheim police and sheriff’s deputies pursued it. A helicopter and police dogs were called in, Doan said, and the brothers were captured about half an hour later.