Robbery suspect may be connected to murder

Andrew Edwards

The suspect in an armed robbery at a Laguna supermarket may be the

same man suspected in the murder of a 19-year-old Huntington Beach

woman.

On Feb. 28, an armed man ran off with about $1,100 in cash after a

stickup at the Pavilions in the 600 block of North Coast Highway.

Though the robber used a firearm during the crime, there were no

injuries reported.

A robbery that took place about a month earlier had a far more

tragic outcome. On Jan. 29, Shawna Wolfgram, 19, a clerk at a Huntington Beach 99 Cents Only store, was murdered by an robber armed

with a .38 or .357 caliber revolver.

“The same suspect could possibly be related to the Pavilions

robbery,” Det. Paul Litchenberg said.

Wolfgram was shot fatally in the chest after what Huntington Beach

police described as a brief struggle.

A crime bulletin from the Huntington Beach Police Department

reports that the robber at the 99 Cents Only Store loitered around

the business pretending to be a customer. After demanding money from

the safe, store employees told the robber the safe was in the front

of the store. The robber was taken to the front of the store and

reached into an open cash register.

According to the bulletin, Wolfgram was killed after she tried to

stop the robber from stealing the cash.

Investigators from Laguna Beach and Huntington Beach have not yet

concluded the crimes were committed by the same man.

“They don’t have enough at this point to say that they are

related,” Huntington Beach Police Lt. Janet Perez said.

Perez did confirm that detectives from both cities have discussed

the case.

Both departments issued similar descriptions of the suspects after

the crimes were committed. The Laguna robber was described as a white

man between 50 and 60 years old, 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9, having a thin

build and pale complexion, with brown and gray hair and a bushy

mustache. He reportedly wore a blue or black beanie, a dark blue

jacket with a hood, blue jeans and dark colored shoes.

The Huntington Beach murderer was described as a white man between

40 and 50 years old, weighing 150 to 170 pounds, with graying hair

and mustache and wearing a dark watch cap.

The most noticeable difference between the two descriptions is

height. Huntington Beach police described the killer as being between

6-foot and 6-foot-2.

Anyone with information can call Laguna Beach police at (949)

497-0758 or Huntington Beach police at (714) 375-5066.