Wife Of Guard Wounded In Armor-Car Robbery Says He'd Have Given Up -- Shootings Of Two Men In Lynnwood Incident Called Unnecessary

If the robbers who ambushed an armored car in Lynnwood on Tuesday had asked for the money, guard Jeffrey Pease would have given it to them, Pease's wife said yesterday.

It's not that Pease, recovering from at least five gunshot wounds, was afraid to use a gun. Kathy Pease said her husband is a skilled hunter and outdoorsman who had thought about the conditions under which he might have to shoot.

``We both firmly believe money is replaceable, but a life is not,'' Kathy Pease said at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. ``He would have given it (the money) to them. It's totally senseless what they did. Nobody needed to be hurt.''

Pease's partner, Peter Walter Berg, 48, of Redmond, was killed in a volley of what police estimate were 13 shots.

Police said the two robbers made no demand that Pease give up the cart of money he carried out of the Fred Meyer store at 4615 196th St. S.W. while Berg waited in the armored car. Instead, police said, one of the suspects jumped Pease and started hitting him as he walked out of the store's west entrance about 11:20 a.m.

Pease, 33, struggled with the robber over Pease's gun, police said, and was shot by the second robber in the face, both hands and the left foot. Berg reportedly left the Loomis Armored Inc. truck when he heard gunfire and was killed as he fired at the two men.

Pease also was able to fire, but police don't know if either suspect was hit. No bystanders were hurt.

The suspects fled in a sports car with at least $20,000. Police responded to the store, just blocks from the Lynnwood police station, within a minute after shots were reported. By the time the car's description was broadcast over police radios, the 1974 MG already had been abandoned near 180th Street Southwest and Highway 99, Lynnwood Police Chief Larry Kalsbeek said yesterday.

Pease, an Edmonds resident, was listed in serious condition yesterday at Harborview after undergoing about eight hours of surgery Tuesday night and yesterday morning. Pease's condition kept him from speaking with reporters and police have asked him not to comment on the incident.

Berg, a retired telephone-company executive who worked part-time for Loomis, died at the scene.

Berg's brother, George Berg of Issaquah, said yesterday he hoped his brother's actions aided Pease's survival.

Loomis is offering a $100,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the suspects. Dave Stevens, regional manager for Loomis, declined further comment.

Pease's father, Wally Pease, yesterday said he'd talked his son out of following his footsteps as a firefighter because the profession was too dangerous.

The elder Pease now produces Northwest Outdoors, a television program distributed by Yakima's public-television station. He said his sons inherited his interest in the outdoors and Jeffrey just never wanted a 9-to-5 job.

``He's not a desk-type-job person,'' Kathy Pease said. ``He's got to be outdoors and doing things.''

Pease, a Minnesota native, spent many years moving to areas where he could fish and hunt. He worked at jobs he could find to support himself. But after he started at Loomis, he decided to make it a career.

Pease brought the same care to his job that he brought to hunting, his father and wife said.

As a hunter, he always went through the full safety regimen before each season, cleaning his guns and reviewing hunting rules, Kathy Pease said. During the season, she said, Pease would search for hours if he thought he'd injured an animal so he could kill it and not leave it in misery.

As a Loomis worker, she said, he took his job very seriously.

This was the first time he'd ever pulled his gun, she said.

``He has always . . . regretted the fact that he might someday have to use his weapon,'' his father said. ``He was very concerned that he act responsibly when the time ever came.''

Kathy Pease said it's not yet clear whether her husband will be able to return to his job, but doctors now are optimistic that reconstructive surgery can save his right thumb, almost shot off.

She said she can't imagine her husband won't want to return to his job if he's able. And she has no regrets about his position, even after the shooting.

``It sounds hokey,'' she said, ``But the way I look at it, if something like this has to happen . . . Jeff, being around guns all of his life, may be better able to handle it than someone else.''

-- North Times reporter Jolayne Houtz contributed to this story.