Man Won’t Be Charged in Failed Store Robbery

Citing insufficient evidence, county prosecutors declined on Thursday to file charges against a man arrested in connection with an attempted robbery of a Downey discount store and gunfight that left two officers injured.

Samuel Tim Fountain, 33, of Downey, was found in a brushy area near the Santa Ana freeway behind the Pace warehouse that was invaded before dawn Tuesday by six heavily armed would-be robbers.

The holdup went sour when police, alerted by a call from a store employee, arrived on the scene. Officers said the robbers communicated with two-way radios and wore bulletproof vests.

Eighteen witnesses failed to identify Fountain as one of the assailants, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office. Fountain, a parolee from Folsom Prison, remained in custody on a “parole hold” as Downey police continued their search for at least five suspects who have eluded a manhunt.