Clerk Shoots Suspected Robber After Holdup

A suspected robber underwent surgery Tuesday night at a local hospital after he was shot by a clerk outside the liquor store he allegedly robbed, officials said.

David Trebilcock, 54, suffered gunshot wounds to his chest and leg. He was taken to Northridge Hospital Medical Center and remained under watch by sheriff’s deputies there Tuesday night, said Sgt. William Hines of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The hospital would not disclose Trebilcock’s condition. Sheriff’s deputies said they expected to formally arrest him late Tuesday night at the hospital.

Hines said Trebilcock walked into the Liquor Chest on Kanan Dume Road at about 4:50 p.m. and pointed a gun at the clerk, demanding money. Trebilcock fled with an undisclosed amount of cash, Hines said.

As Trebilcock attempted to escape in a car, Hines said, the clerk ran out of the store and fired nine shots from a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun at the suspect’s passenger window.

Hines declined to release the clerk’s name.

Deputies spotted Trebilcock about 1 1/2 miles from the liquor store, near Driver and Chesebro roads, Hines said. The suspect had been injured in the chest and leg.

After apprehending him, deputies determined that Trebilcock’s gun was fake, Hines said.