TEMECULA – A 25-year-old man suspected of stealing goods from a Temecula store and firing a pistol when a clerk attempted to stop him was out of custody today.
Erik Lukas Kittmer of Temecula was arrested and booked into the Byrd Detention Center Thursday on suspicion of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. Kittmer posted a $30,000 bond and was released from the Murrieta jail hours later.
According to Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Josh Hephner, about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, the suspect went into the convenience store in the 44500 block of Bedford Court, just off of Interstate 15, and grabbed several items.
Hephner alleged that Kittmer tried to walk out of the store without paying, and the clerk intervened.
“A struggle ensued between the suspect and the employee,” the sergeant said. “During the confrontation, it was reported the suspect pulled out a firearm and discharged it once.”
The clerk backed off, and Kittmer fled the location, according to Hephner.
He said that the victim was not struck by the gunfire.
Relying on security surveillance videotape, as well as other evidence gathered at the scene, deputies were able to identify the alleged assailant as Kittmer, who was tracked to a residence in the 44600 block of Lorraine Drive, where he was taken into custody without incident that morning.
“Deputies located several items of evidence linking Kittmer to the robbery, including a black semiautomatic handgun,” Hephner said.
Background information on the suspect was unavailable.
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