Off-Duty Deputy Stabbed by 2 Robbers in Lakewood

Would-be robbers stabbed an off-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy outside a Lakewood bar Wednesday, critically wounding him in the head, a Sheriff’s Department spokesman said.

Louis Lotgering, 34, was dressed in civilian clothes and talking to his girlfriend outside Chasers Bar and Grill in the 5900 block of Del Amo Boulevard about 2:20 a.m. when two men approached and asked for his wallet, investigators said.

Lotgering was attacked when he refused to surrender his wallet, deputies said. He was able to fire several shots as the suspects fled, but investigators have not determined if either attacker was hit.

Dave Darrow, an El Monte police officer who lives near the bar, said he awoke when he heard shots in the bar’s parking lot. When he looked over his fence, he said, he saw blood spots in the parking lot and saw two men run to a parked car on Faust Avenue and speed off.

A 12-year Sheriff’s Department veteran assigned to the Men’s Central Jail downtown, Lotgering suffered numerous knife wounds to his head and underwent successful surgery at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center to remove a blood clot, said Deputy Steve Sciacca, a department spokesman.

Lotgering was in critical but stable condition Wednesday, Sciacca said. Relatives and fellow deputies gathered at the hospital Wednesday afternoon, anxious about Lotgering’s recovery. One deputy said doctors told them that Lotgering was conscious but groggy after surgery and was able to talk to physicians.

The suspects fled in a blue compact car, investigators said, adding that Lotgering recalled one of them saying during the attack: “Stick him, Mikey.”

Anyone with information about the attack is urged to call the Sheriff’s Department at (213) 526-5541.

Bloodstains were visible on the sidewalk in front of the bar Wednesday, and in a parking lot about 50 yards from the tavern’s rear door.

Disturbances and fights are regular occurrences at the bar, according to neighbors who recently waged a successful campaign to keep Chasers from expanding.

Previously called Johnny J, a bar that drew older customers, the tavern changed ownership about 1 1/2 years ago, said Dan Vo, 35, a clerk at a nearby liquor store. “Chasers drew a younger crowd with heavy metal music and trouble began,” Vo said.

Chasers manager Rob Vegter said the bar has been cleaning up its act since he started working there three months ago.

“We are getting rid of the bad element,” he said, cleaning up the bloodstain on the front sidewalk. “We’re getting a better crowd. Everything has been going really well, so something like this is kind of discouraging.

“We did not have anything to do with this. We were closed.”

Vegter added that Tuesday was a slow night.

The bar’s legal capacity is 105, forcing patrons on busy weekends to park on nearby streets because the lot only holds about 40 cars.

“We don’t want it here. We don’t need it here,” said Natalie Wickline, 28, whose property backs up to the parking lot.

“That bar is a pain in the ass,” said Darrow, the El Monte police officer. “I’ve broken up two fights there myself when I have come home in uniform.”