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Mall security officer speaks about her kidnapping www.privateofficer.com
Two search warrants obtained by 7NEWS reveal the timeline of events dealing with the man suspected in the Cherry Creek Mall kidnapping and separate murder of a Denver man on April 13.
According to one of the search warrants, a female security guard at Cherry Creek Mall was about to start her workday when a man approached her car in the west garage. Police believe that man is 24-year-old William Lornes.
Suspect Made Woman Drive At Gunpoint
The woman told police that the man walked up to her car and asked for a cigarette and to borrow her phone.
She then said he pulled out a silver handgun and got in her back seat.
They drove to an alley where the man forced her into the trunk. While the man drove, the woman found the trunk’s escape latch and was able to jump out when the car slowed by a 7-Eleven near Eighth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.
She called police and gave her report to investigators within an hour.
Lornes Also Suspected In Denver Dumpster Murder
Police have said they suspect Lornes in not just the Cherry Creek Mall kidnapping, but also the murder of a Denver man.
While police were looking for Lornes after the reported kidnapping, a person called 911 to report what looked like a dead body in a dumpster near 12th Avenue and Hudson Street.
The man, 73-year-old Gerald Schwartzman, had been shot in the head.
Based on the search warrants, police have pieced together a timeline for the two crimes.
Dumpster Murder, Cherry Creek Mall Timeline
•April 13, 12:27 p.m.: Schwartzman had a lotto ticket in his pocket bought at 12:27. Police had previously said he was last seen at the King Soopers off 13th Avenue and Krameria Street.
•12:32 p.m.: Schwartzman’s sister speaks with him on his cell phone.
•Between 1-2 p.m.: Woman reports seeing a black man leave a vehicle in a shopping center near Leetsdale Drive and Holly Street. At 4:03 p.m., the woman called police to report the abandoned vehicle.
•2:28 p.m.: Cherry Creek Mall surveillance revealed a man who looked like Lornes walk to the west garage area.
•3 p.m.: Woman escapes the trunk of her own car near Eighth Avenue and Colorado Boulevard.
•April 14, 2:10 a.m.: Lornes rings the buzzer at Arrowhead Manor Bed and Breakfast in Jefferson County asking for a taxi after police said he crashed his car along Highway 285 between Conifer and Tiny Town.
•3 a.m.: Colorado State Patrol and Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies investigating a single car crash spot Lornes in a passing taxi and make the arrest near C-470 and Alameda Avenue.
On Thursday, Lornes was charged with kidnapping, robbery and car theft, but has yet to be charged with murder.
Family sues Cherry Hill mall-security in death of daughter www.privateofficer.com
The alleged failure of security personnel to revive an 18-year girl is at the heart of a lawsuit against Cherry Creek Mall.
Memorie Purser, an employee at American Eagle Outfitters, a long-time Cherry Creek Mall store, died after her heart stopped, a result of a pre-exising condition.
Her family is suing Cherry Creek Mall, saying that mall security personnel did not use emergency defibrillators, available in several locations, to revive Purser.
Purser died two years ago, during Cherry Creek Mall’s busiest season. The suit alleges that Cherry Creek Mall security personnel failed to respond to a phone call for help.
Mall management claims that staff are trained to use the defibrillators, which can restart a stopped heart, in emergencies.
Attorney Russel Hatten is representing the family in the suit against Cherry Creek Mall.
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