An armed would-be robber who was shot and killed by the owner of a Norwalk tobacco shop was identified Sunday as an Oakland resident.
The attempted robbery occurred around 9 a.m. Tuesday in the 10900 block of East Firestone Boulevard, near the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The man killed by a fatal gunshot wound to the upper body was identified by the Sheriff’s Information Bureau as 25-year-old Rodney Gaston.
Homicide investigators determined that Classic Tobacco was opening its doors when Gaston, along with two other individuals, armed with a handgun, entered and sprayed the owner with pepper spray, after which the owner fired his own handgun once, hitting Gaston.
The three suspects fled, but Gaston collapsed a short distance from the store. Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel found him and took him to a hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The other two suspects fled to a residential area northeast of the mall, where they were later tracked down and arrested by Norwalk Station officers. They were identified as 22-year-old Lamont Neal of Stockton and 26-year-old Dashaunte Woods of Oakland.
SIB confirmed that the three men had worked together.
