3 SOUGHT IN THEFT FROM STORE.

Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Three Wal-Mart employees and a passer-by were injured trying to stop a woman shoplifting suspect when two men believed to be her sons drove a car onto the sidewalk in front of the store to help her escape.

Holiday shoppers ran to the rear of the west Lancaster store when the violence broke out at its front entrance about 8:45 p.m. Friday, witnesses said.

Deputies were searching Saturday for the trio, described as a Latino woman in her 40s and two Latino men in their 20s in a red 1990s Chevrolet Lumina.

Two employees were struck by the car, a passer-by cut his leg kicking out the driver's window trying to stop it, and another employee had his arm cut by the broken glass when the car drove off as he reached in to grab the ignition key, deputies said.

The employees struck by the car suffered minor injuries, deputies said.

Deputies said loss-prevention employees at the store in the 44700 block of Valley Central Way told them they had detained the woman near the front doors for attempting to leave the store with unpaid merchandise. The two men with her walked out of the store, and the woman became combative, deputies said.

The woman was stopped again outside, where she punched a woman employee. As the employees fought with her, the men drove the car onto the sidewalk, and she ran to it and got in, deputies said.

Deputies searched the area Friday night but could not locate the three suspects or their car.

Charles F. Bostwick, [phone]

chuck.bostwick(at)dailynews.com