A Denver jury Wednesday convicted a 28-year-old man who shot and killed a 73-year-old man and kidnapped a shopping-center security guard on the same day in 2011.
William Lornes was found guilty of first-degree felony murder, second-degree murder, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, aggravated robbery and first-degree aggravated motor vehicle theft, according to a news release from the Denver district attorney’s office.
Around 1 p.m. April 13, 2011, Lornes confronted Gerald Schwartzman in an east Denver parking lot and later shot and killed him. Schwartzman’s body was found in a nearby trash bin.
Hours later, Lornes went to the parking garage at the Cherry Creek Shopping Center, where he forced a female security guard and drove away. Shortly after, she escaped from the trunk.
Lornes was after he crashed and abandoned the woman’s car and tried to flee in a taxi.
Lornes is scheduled to appear in Denver District Court on June 27 for a sentencing hearing.
