Cherry Creek Kidnapping Suspect Investigated For Murder
DENVER (CBS4)- Police in Denver believe the man suspected of kidnapping a Cherry Creek Mall security guard is also the prime suspect in the murder of a man whose body was found in a dumpster.
William Lornes, 24, is being held in the Jefferson County Jail for investigation of auto theft and hit and run. Lornes is also being held for investigation of kidnapping and robbery in relation to the Cherry Creek Mall incident.
Police in Denver believe Lornes is responsible for the shooting death of Gerald Schwartzman, 73. Schwartzman's body was found in a dumpster in the alley in the 1200 block of Hudson and Grape Streets at about 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.
Before Schwartzman's body was discovered, police believe Lornes was in the middle of a crime spree.
Lornes was arrested for allegedly kidnapping a woman in the west parking garage at the Cherry Creek Mall on Wednesday afternoon.
The woman, who is a security guard, says she was reporting to work at the mall when a man approached her with a gun. She says he robbed her and then ordered here to climb into the trunk of her Saturn Ion.
She managed to unlatch the trunk from the inside and escaped near 8th and Colorado. She then contacted police.
Police said Jefferson County deputies caught Lornes at about 3 a.m. Thursday near C-470 and Alameda. He crashed the victim's car on highway 285, left the scene and called for a taxi.
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A Jefferson County Sheriff's Deputy found the abandoned crash site and began to search for the suspect connected to the stolen car. The deputy spotted the man inside the taxi, driving past the crash scene. The taxi was pulled over on C-470 and Lornes was arrested.
Denver Police Detective John White said the kidnapping victim was lucky to get away.
"She was very lucky. She was very fortunate and very brave. Clearly, we now see this individual was capable of murder. The fact that she was able to unlatch that trunk and get out and call authorities really could have saved her life. Really did save her life," said White.
He has a criminal record dating back to 2005 in Colorado that includes arrests for drugs, robbery and motor vehicle theft.
