Man Killed In Botched Torrance Heist Was Possible Suspect In Apple Valley Killings

APPLE VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — A man police called a "person of interest" in the killings of an elderly couple in Apple Valley last week is also dead, authorities said Thursday. He was fatally shot during a botched jewelry heist in Torrance.

Keon Bailey, 20, of Lancaster, was identified as the man fatally shot by the owner of Leilani Jewelers in Torrance during an attempted robbery Tuesday afternoon..

Torrance police Sgt. Paul Kranke said Bailey was armed when he entered the store but he did not fire any shots.

San Bernardino County authorities said Bailey had on him some of the items stolen from Louis Giuntini and his wife, Rose, who were found dead in their Apple Valley home on Feb. 29.

The suspect was also linked to three other recent crimes in Apple Valley. One of those crimes was an armed robbery that occurred Feb. 28 at Neil's Donuts on Tuscola Road.

Bailey was released from the California Institution for Men in Chino on Feb. 18. He had been incarcerated since May 2014 for first-degree burglary and receiving stolen property. The felon was placed on three years of parole upon his release.

His long rap sheet also included rape, grand theft, trespassing and sexual battery, San Bernardino County sheriff's officials said.