Holdup May Be Linked to to Killer of 2 Officers

Police said Saturday that authorities are investigating whether the gunman who killed two police officers at a Torrance Holiday Inn also may have robbed a Gardena real estate office last summer in a holdup that resembled the fatal Valentine’s Day attack.

Gardena Police Lt. David Morgan said Torrance detectives have notified his department that they are looking into a possible link between the hotel slayings and the Gardena robbery, which occurred June 11 when a masked man burst into the C & C Real Estate office and tied up five people before fleeing with their cash and ATM cards.

In both cases, the gunman covered his face with dark netting, wore military-style gear, wielded a gun equipped with a silencer and carried a bag filled with flexible plastic handcuffs.

“When you look at the crime reports, there are some similarities,” Morgan said.

The Torrance-based Daily Breeze reported in Saturday’s editions that driver’s licenses belonging to two of the Gardena robbery victims were found in David J. Fukuto’s possession after he was killed by officers during his Feb. 14 attack on a Holiday Inn motivational seminar attended by Palos Verdes Estates police.

Akira Tabata, 45, of Gardena said police found his stolen license while searching Fukuto’s Mid-City home, according to the newspaper report. Eiji Daimon, 33, of El Sereno said his license was found in Fukuto’s wallet. Neither could be immediately reached for comment.

Top commanders on duty Saturday at the Torrance and Gardena police stations said they were unable to confirm accounts offered by the two victims.