Mesa mom dies saving daughter, friend in home invasion
Senta Scarborough and Patricia Biggs
The Arizona Republic
July 10, 2002 12:00:00 A Mesa woman, bound with duct tape, saved the lives of her teenage daughter and friend by facing off against two armed intruders, fatally shooting one before she was slain in her bedroom. Elizabeth R. Kuhne, 42, died in her 16-year-old daughter's arms after the home invasion early Monday, said James Wallace, the daughter's boyfriend. Lorenzo Ruben Gallardo, 24, was arraigned Tuesday on suspicion of first-degree murder, armed robbery, kidnapping and first-degree burglary charges. Minutes after the home invasion, Gallardo accompanied Ernest Deluna, 16, to Desert Samaritan Medical Center. Michael Dashanne Lutrick, 22, of Mesa drove them in Gallardo's white Dodge pickup truck. Deluna died shortly afterward from a gunshot wound to the neck. Duct tape was found in his pocket, police said. A trail of fresh blood leading from the home provided a link to the crime. "It was a piece of information that helped us track down the suspect," Mesa police Sgt. Mike Goulet said. Wallace, his face battered, eyes blackened and lips swollen, was emotional Tuesday evening as he gave his account of the events. He said it began at 2:36 a.m. Monday when two men kicked in the door of the home in the 2600 block of East Lockwood. "They knew some friends of (the daughter) so they knew we had $500 set aside," said Wallace, 26. Everyone was asleep when the intruders burst in. Wallace heard Elizabeth Kuhne yelling from her bedroom and men yelling, "Cops! Freeze!" But when Wallace looked into the hallway, he saw two men wearing ski masks and carrying guns, and knew they weren't police officers. Wallace locked Kuhne's daughter into a bedroom to protect her. The two intruders pistol-whipped him, knocked him to the ground, kicked him in the head and bound his hands behind his back with duct tape, he said. During the struggle, the mask on one of the men ripped, exposing half of his face. Wallace heard Kuhne telling the assailants, "Take all my money, take everything." Wallace said the intruder kicked in the door of the daughter's bedroom and dragged her into her mother's room. The teen gave them money, but they demanded more. When it seemed the intruders were leaving, the teen started cutting the tape that bound Wallace. The intruders returned to Kuhne's bedroom. "They seemed to agree that they were going to start killing, with me first," Wallace said. "Boom! I looked over and saw (Kuhne) with a gun." At least one of the assailants returned fire, then both men fled. On Tuesday, North Mesa Justice Court Judge Lester Pearce entered a not guilty plea for Gallardo. He is being held in lieu of $1 million bond. Gallardo lives with Deluna's sister, Tabitha Glenn, who is his fiancee and mother of his two children. "I woke up to this. I love my baby brother so much. We are like peas in a pod," said Tabitha, 22, of Tempe. "He had a hard life. I wouldn't wish this on anyone because it hurts so much. I don't know what is going on . . . but that my brother's dead." According to court records, Gallardo gave several versions of why he went to the hospital and tried to dispose of evidence. He was carrying a large amount of cash when he was arrested; victims reported about the same amount stolen, records show. Blood stains were found in Gallardo's vehicle, records show. Tempe police arrested the driver, Lutrick, on unrelated charges after he left the hospital. They later released him. Lutrick was interviewed, but no charges have been filed against him. "We don't know who all of the players are and what role they individually had in it, but we are still investigating," Goulet said. Lutrick declined to comment. Wallace returned to the home Tuesday to clean up before Kuhne's husband, Paul, returned from a motorcycle road trip. He plans to tell Paul Kuhne about his wife's heroics. "She saved my life and (her daughter's)," Wallace said. "There's no doubt in my mind."
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