Lottery Ticket Helped Investigators Tie Together Case Against Crime Spree Suspect

DENVER (CBS4) - A lottery ticket purchased at a King Soopers grocery store helped Denver investigators tie together the case against a man charged in a crime spree last month.

William Lornes, 24, was charged on Tuesday with first-degree murder, and an arrest affadavit unveiled in the case sheds new light on the criminal acts he allegedly committed on April 13.

Investigators say surveillance video at the King Soopers at 13th and Krameria shows Lornes getting into Gerald Schwartzman's car at 1 p.m. Schwartzman was in the passenger seat.

Later that day Schwartzman was found dead in a dumpster at 12th and Hudson, about eight blocks away. He had a single gunshot wound to the head and police found a 9mm shell casing near his body. Schwartzman also had the lottery ticket in his pocket. Investigators were able to trace the lottery ticket back to the grocery store.

Two hours later police say Lornes robbed a woman at gunpoint at Cherry Creek Mall and forced her into her trunk of her car. She was able to escape a few blocks away after unlatching the trunk from the inside.

The next day a deputies arrested Lornes in a taxi and found a 9mm pistol in the cab. (Full Story) Tests showed the same gun was used to kill Schwartzman.

Lornes had already been charged with kidnapping and aggravated robbery in the mall incident and now faces the murder charge for allegedly killing Schwartzman. He is expected to appear in court on May 12 on all of the charges.

The security guard who was kidnapped returned to work on Tuesday.