ARTICLE LEADS TO SUSPECT IN LANCASTER HEIST : MAN JAILED IN ORANGE COUNTY CASE.

Byline: Bhavna Mistry Daily News Staff Writer

A newspaper article about an Orange County jewelry store robbery led to a suspect in the June 26 robbery and shooting of a Lancaster store owner and his wife, deputies said Friday.

Terry and Colleen Hodgkins, the owners of Hodgkins Jewelers, were called by a relative who read about a botched Aug. 23 holdup in Los Alamitos that ended with three arrests, Lancaster Detective Steven Lankford said.

``They noticed the similarities and thought I should know about it,'' Lankford said. ``If it wasn't for them, it's possible we wouldn't have made the connection. If there's such a thing as being a good victim, they're it.''

Keyawn Cook, 24, is being held at the Orange County Men's Jail without bail after the Hodgkins identified him in a photo lineup as one of six or seven people who robbed their store on Avenue K on June 26 of $260,000 in merchandise. Cook is believed to be the robber who wounded them, Lankford said.

``It was a carbon copy of what happened to us,'' Colleen Hodgkins said of the Orange County robbery. ``We couldn't believe it.''

Cook was arrested Aug. 23 after four people robbed the Heritage Jewelers in Los Alamitos and were spotted by a police helicopter as they fled.

Cook will first be held to answer to charges in Orange County before going to court for the Lancaster robbery, Lankford said. ``It could take several months,'' he said.

Although the other two people arrested in the Orange County robbery have not been connected to the Lancaster robbery, sheriff's officials are continuing to investigate any possible connection with that robbery or others, Lankford said.

In the Hodgkins Jewelry robbery, two men walked into the store at 1072 W. Avenue K shortly after 11 a.m. and pretended to be interested in purchasing some jewelry.

After selecting a ring, they asked if they could have it gift wrapped. As Colleen Hodgkins began to gift wrap their purchase and two customers inside of the store left, the two men pulled out guns and ordered Hodgkins and a store manager onto the floor.

Terry Hodgkins stepped out of the back office, then retreated to get his own gun but was stopped by Cook, officials said.

As the two struggled over Cook's gun, Hodgkins was shot in the hand and the left leg. He was then handcuffed and brought to where his wife and manager had been placed, along with a jewelry distributor who was also in the office.

A robber shot Colleen Hodgkins in the leg for no apparent reason, and the two were kicked while they lay on the floor, Lankford said.

``At that time, Cook, over a walkie-talkie, said everything was OK, and the other robber opened the back door and let in four to five more people,'' Lankford said.

The team of robbers smashed jewelry cases and took $260,000 in diamonds and watches, gold bracelets and necklaces, then fled.

In the Orange County incident, one person entered the store, picked out a ring and asked to have it gift wrapped. As the owners, a husband and wife, were wrapping the gift, a man approached the door.

The suspect told the store owners it was a friend, and they let him in through the security door.

At that point, both men pulled out guns and announced they were robbing the store. At some point, the male owner was taken into the bathroom and shot once in the abdomen. He was also pistol whipped and suffered a large gash to the head.

``Their robbery was interrupted,'' Lankford said. ``Someone thought something to be suspicious and notified authorities. They were only able to get six to seven items.''