Beverly Hills Gunman Had Robbery Record : Sheriff Confirms 1 Victim Was Killed by Deputy’s Bullet

A 22-year-old Las Vegas man arrested in the bloody 13 1/2-hour siege of a Beverly Hills jewelry store is a convicted burglar who was also being sought by the FBI in the armed robbery of a Las Vegas jewelry store in February, authorities said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles County Sheriff Sherman Block said that a hostage killed when suspect Steven Livaditis tried to slip out a side door was apparently gunned down by a sheriff’s sharpshooter.

The gunman had used three hostages as a shield in an attempt to flee the store late Monday.

Store Manager Dies

Store manager Hugh Skinner, 64, was shot to death as the four, covered by a blanket, tried to make their way to a parking lot, where some employees kept their cars. The three hostages were bound together by lengths of heavy tape.

Authorities later found the bodies of two other hostages inside the store. Both were lying face down with their hands bound, and both had been killed execution-style, police said.

As Livaditis and his captives left the store about 11:30 p.m., members of a sheriff’s special weapons team lobbed “flash-bang” grenades in their direction to try to stop them. The force of the grenades apparently lifted the blanket draped over the four enough for police to get a look at who was underneath, Block said.

The marksman fired when a spotter working with him saw Livaditis allegedly pointing something shiny, possibly a gun, at one of the hostages, the sheriff said.

Block also said the marksman was close enough to hear “some threat to kill these people.”

The fatal bullet, which apparently sliced through Skinner’s body, has not been recovered, investigators said.

Block said the suspect’s gun was fully loaded when it was recovered outside the store. A knife also was found.

To Be Arraigned Thursday

Livaditis, was taken to the Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center jail ward, where he was booked for investigation of multiple murder and robbery. Formal charges are expected to be filed against him in Beverly Hills Municipal Court Thursday.

Throughout the long standoff, Livaditis claimed that he had killed at least one of the five hostages and possibly a second.

Authorities, however, operated under the assumption that the gunman was bluffing. He reportedly made several conflicting statements to them in telephone conversations throughout the day.

Beverly Hills Police Chief Marvin Iannone told a press conference Tuesday that officers believed that Livaditis might wait through the night and surrender himself in the morning.

Despite the deaths of the three hostages, the chief said, “I look at the whole situation in retrospect and I wouldn’t have done anything differently.”

Made ‘Many Threats’

Iannone said Livaditis made “many threats. . . . He threatened to kill. He said he had killed. . . . He was very lighthearted about it. The hostages handled it very lightly. In fact, we were all convinced, including the psychologists, that he had not harmed anyone in there subsequent to our arrival.

“We knew that had we attempted entry at that point, he very likely would have killed all the hostages.”

Beverly Hills police, under Iannone’s command, had charge of the operation. Block, however, said that in most cases police would try to enter a building if it was known that a hostage inside had been murdered.

“Once there is knowledge a hostage has in fact been killed, then the assumption could be made that one or more hostages will be killed and tactical operations would usually be some sort of forced entry,” Block said.

But, the sheriff added, with “his admissions and denials . . . a forced entry into that kind of location would have been very risky and could have resulted in the death of all the hostages, and that’s why we figured time was on our side.”

Calls TV Station

Television station KTLA reported that it had received a phone call at mid-afternoon Monday from a man identifying himself as the gunman. Giving his name as “John,” the caller claimed he had killed a man named Smith, the store’s security guard, for talking back to him.

“Mr. Smith’s body is right here, lying a few feet away . . . dead for several hours,” the caller said.

Two of the hostages, both later killed, verified his accounts in telephone calls to news agencies during Monday’s ordeal.

The bodies of William Richard Smith, 54, a security guard, and saleswoman Ann Heilperin, 40, were found on the first floor of the jewelry store.

Iannone said Smith apparently had been stabbed to death around 10:15 a.m., moments after the gunman entered the store and took his hostages. Heilperin, he said, had been shot in the back of the head, late in the afternoon.

The chief said the suspect told them at one point that he accidentally fired a shot into the wall, but deputies stationed near the location reported hearing no gunfire.

Survivors Hospitalized

The two surviving hostages were taken to local hospitals.

Saleswoman Carol Lambert, 42, of Culver City, who was burned on her face and chest by the fiery grenades, was in stable condition in the burn unit at Brotman Memorial Hospital. Her doctor said she may require skin grafts and may suffer some permanent scarring.

After complaining of chest pains, Robert Taylor, 60, the store’s shipping clerk, was being treated in the coronary observation unit at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. On Monday, Taylor’s son had said his father was a diabetic.

Livaditis, burned on his hands and face by the flash grenades, was being treated at the jail ward.

The Las Vegas jewelry store robbery that police believe Livaditis carried out occurred Feb. 2 at a Zales store in a large shopping center about two miles from the Strip.

The robber--dressed in a gray suit, the same color police said Livaditis wore on Monday--entered the store shortly after it opened, and confronted the two employees on duty with a large-caliber revolver.

Within an hour, he had fled with an estimated $250,000 in merchandise, leaving the workers bound in a back room.

Police said the victims later identified Livaditis as the robber after being shown a photograph of him. The FBI later obtained a federal warrant for his arrest as a fugitive.

According to Nevada authorities, Livaditis’ first major brush with the law occurred in September, 1984, when was arrested by Las Vegas Metropolitan Police on suspicion of stealing $22,000 worth of equipment from a computer store and attempting to resell it.

Served Jail Term

He served a brief jail term and was given five years probation last June, but failed to regularly check in with probation officials and was placed on “absconder” status in February.

The Van Cleef & Arpels store, like its neighbors on exclusive Rodeo Drive, maintained tight security. The store had a security gate at the front door, closed circuit television to monitor access routes and bulletproof windows and doors.

Arriving at the store shortly after 10 a.m. Monday, Livaditis, carrying an attache case, was apparently admitted to the locked building by one of the employees.

Iannone said the well-dressed robber entered the store “under the pretext of being a customer.”

Once inside, police said he opened his case, which contained a nickel-plated .357 magnum revolver, rolls of heavy tape, cord, ammunition, a survival knife and a switch-blade.

Some Escape Early

About 10 employees managed to escape from the store as the drama began to unfold.

“I heard him screaming at everyone to get on the floor,” said a bookkeeper after making her way to safety.

Beverly Hills officers quickly responded to a silent alarm that was tripped. Meanwhile, one employee managed to dial the 911 emergency number. Within minutes, as many as 80 police officers and sheriff’s deputies, many armed with automatic weapons, converged on the area.

Officers said the gunman was apparently caught by surprise when police appeared so quickly.

Authorities said he made only two demands during the day. He asked that food be delivered and that a television news crew be sent to interview him.

Late in the afternoon, a bag containing bread, bologna and cold drinks was left outside the store’s front door. But Livaditis never retrieved it.

Police Deny Request

Police denied his request for television cameras from KTLA Channel 5.

“I believe that had we allowed Channel 5 to go in there, he very well could have taken them hostage,” Iannone said. “It very likely could have meant he had two or three more hostages.”

Police said they do not know when Livaditis arrived in Los Angeles from Las Vegas. It is believed, however, that he had been here at least a month.

Traffic officers in Beverly Hills stopped Livaditis at 320 N. Rodeo Drive, adjacent to the Van Cleef & Arpels store, May 19. The officers said he was stopped for making an abrupt lane changes and nearly causing two collisions, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Elden S. Fox, head of the Beverly Hills office.

Used Several Aliases

Fox declined to say whether or not authorities believe, in hindsight, that the suspect was casing the jewelry store at the time. He said that Livaditis, who used at least five aliases, gave Beverly Hills police an address on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood.

“In all likelihood,it will be special circumstances, including both robbery and multiple murder,” Fox said of charges to be introduced at Thursday’s arraignment. Special circumstances allegations would make the charges potential death-penalty offenses.

Autopsies on the three dead hostages also are scheduled for today.

Staff writers Jerry Belcher, Scott Harris, David Holley, Tracey Kaplan, Terry Pristin, Kenneth Reich and Ted Vollmer contributed to this article.