Police Hunt for Accomplice in Mall Robbery

Detectives searched Monday for a suspect in the botched robbery of a Macy’s store in Woodland Hills as witnesses told of a violent struggle between a jewelry counter worker and a second suspect, whom officers shot and killed, the police said.

Jittery employees returned to work at the Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade, which the Los Angeles Police Department ordered evacuated Sunday evening as officers scoured the mall for the missing suspect. Some workers and shoppers hid in the mall for several hours.

Detectives and coroner’s investigators had yet to identify the dead suspect, pending a check of fingerprint databases. Police have only a sketchy description of his partner.

Detectives said two men posing as customers browsed the fine-jewelry department on Macy’s first floor about 5:15 p.m. Sunday, then pulled handguns and threatened counter clerks.

The man later shot by police put his semiautomatic handgun on the counter as he stuffed his pockets with jewelry, officers said. But a worker in his 50s, whom the police and Macy’s officials would not identify, grabbed the gun and tried to subdue the robber, according to detectives.

“The clerk got hold of the gun and there was a fight behind the counter,” said Los Angeles Police Lt. Jimmy Grayson. “He put up a pretty good battle but when they came back up, the suspect was yelling, holding his gun sideways, gangster-style, up against the clerk’s head and his face.”

Grayson said the clerk, who recently had knee surgery, was not injured.

As his accomplice began to escape, the gun-waving bandit resumed filling his pockets with diamond necklaces, rings and other pieces, Grayson said. Moments later, Los Angeles Police Department officers responding to 911 calls arrived at the store.

The robber trained his gun on the officers, but did not fire, Grayson said. “The officers fired several shots, striking the armed man several times,” he said. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The department is conducting a mandatory investigation of the shooting, authorities said.

Although the robbery attempt was over in minutes, it triggered hours of chaos. Terrified shoppers made frantic cell phone calls, ran for exits and, in the case of those who remained hidden in the mall, touched off fears of a hostage situation.

The LAPD called a citywide tactical alert that drew hundreds of officers, including SWAT teams and K-9 units, for the top-to-bottom search of the mall. For much of the night, the police said that two suspects were on the loose. By midnight, they had determined there was just one at large, and they said he probably fled before shots were fired.

Investigators said they believe the suspect dropped a handgun in the mall parking lot, ran down the street and hid in bushes before boarding a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus heading south on Topanga Canyon Boulevard.

The store where the robbery occurred is one of two Macy’s outlets in the mall. On Monday, yellow police tape kept customers out of the fine-jewelry department, whose display counters were covered in blue tarp. “I was a little nervous about coming here, but I needed to buy some gifts,” said shopper Cara Marie Ramirez, 39, of Van Nuys. “Life goes on.”

The police and Macy’s supervisors instructed employees not to discuss the incident. Some workers were overheard expressing concern about the mall’s security.

“Why did we have to come back today?” said one woman worker. “I didn’t think we’d be open.”