Deputies say man pulled gun on shoppers
WELLINGTON — A former Mall at Wellington Green employee attempted to rob two people at gunpoint in the mall parking lot last month, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office.
J o r g e L a n - c i a n i , 2 0 , f a c e s c h a r g e s o f a t t e m p t e d armed robbery and remained in the Palm Beach County Jail early Wednesday on $100,000 bail. The Wellington man was arrested April 3, according to jail records.
On March 22, two people were leaving the mall and getting into a car just before 8 p.m., according to a sheriff ’s office report. As the driver sat in his seat and attempted to close the car door, a man later identified as Lanciani held the door open. Lanciani demanded the man give up a laptop he had just purchased at the mall’s Apple Store.
The passenger took the laptop so Lanciani couldn’t get to it, deputies said. That’s when Lanciani pulled out a semi-automatic handgun, according to the report. As Lanciani continued to demand the laptop, a witness came by and shouted at Lanciani, so he ran, investigators said.
Surveillance video from the food court of the mall later showed Lanciani speaking with someone at one of the restaurants, according to the report. The unidentified person watched the footage and said the man appeared to be a former employee of the restaurant.
Lanciani does not appear to have any previous criminal record.