Results tagged “robbery”

Police are calling a man who has robbed at least 13 places, mostly in South L.A., the "Left-Handed Eyeglass" Bandit. That name comes from his usual M.O.: he walks into a business, pulls out a small caliber revolver, holds wit with his left hand and demands money before leaving. He's described as an African America in his 30s, about 160 to 190 pounds and 5 foot 10 inches, according to police. And in addition to his sinistral tendencies, he also wears glasses.

The LAPD is on the lookout for a man who impersonates a police officer and robs them. He's struck at least four times--twice in the Rampart area and once in Olympic and Pacific--over the last couple of months in various neighborhoods around the city. Usually operating in the late morning or early afternoon, he approaches victims dressed as a plain clothes police officer, complete with badge and gun. He'll search the victim and remove cash and wallets.

Now here's a humorous ending to yesterday's manhunt for an armed robbery suspect. Although he evaded police during a five-hour search and closure of a few block area, his continued tomfoolery landed him in cuffs. As told by a local neighborhood watch via the LAPD Senior Lead Officer for the area, here's what happened:

Police said that a perimeter set up for an armed robbery suspect has concluded after an exhaustive five-hour search ended with no arrests. Around 5 a.m. this morning, two robbery suspects were recognized by officers in the parking lot of Rite-Aid at Riverside and Fulton. One was quickly arrested, but the other escaped on foot, possibly with a gun. Police created a large perimeter, using patrol units, an airship and K-9 units. At about 10:20 a.m., the perimeter was opened.

A perimeter has been set up in Sherman Oaks as police search for a robbery suspect currently at-large. At some point this morning, officers observed wanted robbery suspects in the parking of lot of Rite-Aid at Riverside and Fulton. One was taken into custody, but another ran, according to police.

This rumor has been floating around for years. If you're getting robbed and forced to take out money at an ATM, you can alert police by entering your PIN in reverse, but still get the money out so the bad guy is none the wiser. The locally based Snopes.com calls the rumor false and gives a history of the technology, which was first patented in 1994 by a Chicago businessman, but hasn't found an real-world use. Even a bill related to the idea went through the Kansas legislature but never became law. However, the LA Times reports today that Councilman Greig Smith, in his new role as chairman of the Public Safety Committee, wants to explore the technology in light of teenager Lily Burk's murder. She was killed after attempting to withdraw money from ATMs with a credit card (it never worked). Smith says the technology would cost $25 per ATM to install. If this technology were to become citywide, ATM robberies would likely become seldom, or at least and unfortunately, more efficient.

Despite what many people think, the police are not always against medical marijuana dispensaries. A legal institution is a legal institution and when said institution happens to have lots of drugs and money inside their business, it's a prime target for robbery. Not many details are out now, but LAPD tomorrow will be asking the press and public's help "to inform the public about medical marijuana dispensary robberies and suspects who are to be considered armed and dangerous," an advisory says. "Police are also asking for the public’s help to identify and locate the suspects." Apparently, some incidents have happened in the West Valley.

That's a pretty terrifying video and LAPD detectives have released it because they need the public's help in identifying the three suspects involved. The video is from August 13th at around 2:35 a.m. when the truck was parked near Avalon Boulevard and Gage Avenue in South LA.

Around 6:30 a.m., a North Hills Walgreens on the 15300 block of Nordhoff was involved in an armed robbery. The suspects fled--there could be up to four of them--and police caught up with at least one of them, who began an hour long standoff as he refused to come down from a warehouse roof in Van Nuys.

Again with Craigslist? A woman in Sherman Oaks--living just across the street from the Galleria--was robbed last night when two men responded to her masseuse ad on Craigslist. A gun was pointed at her head, she was tied up and robbed before they left. She was able to free herself and call the police around 8:30 p.m. Earlier this month, police were looking for a few people who would place car ads on the website for extremely low prices. When the buyer would come with cash, as requested, they would be robbed. Two of the suspects have been arrested.

Despite an abundance of precaution over a possible bank break-in, police officials have called a code 4--everything back to normal, no issues--at a Bank of America branch in Sherman Oaks. Around 8 a.m. when the bank manager arrived, things seemed out of place and suspicious noises were heard coming from the vault area. Police were alerted who in turn shut down Ventura Blvd. between Cedros and Willis for 3 and a half hours. Search teams found no one or any evidence of of a robbery or person. A transient with a black duffle bag--wrong place, wrong time, wrong bag--was temporarily detained and eventually let go. In the photo to the right, captured by an LAist reader in an office building across the street, police are seen on the roof of the bank building.

Police have shut down Ventura Boulevard between Cedros and Willis in Sherman Oaks after bank employees suspected a possible break-in in progress this morning. Upon arriving around 8 a.m., bank workers heard suspicious noises coming from the vault area. They alerted police who in turn precautiously shut down the busy artery during rush hour as they prepared to enter the building. As of 9:40 a.m., police were preparing to enter the building, according to Officer Bruce Borihanh at Media Relations. UPDATE: A police search party exited the building empty handed, but noticed a man carrying a black duffel bag. He has been detained in handcuffs and is being questioned, according to KNX1070. UPDATE 2: The man was determined to be a homeless person not related to the incident. UPDATE 3: Ventura Blvd. has reopened, but police continue to search for a possible suspect.

Recently, a string of taco truck robberies held at gunpoint have left many truck operators feeling shaky, but reluctant to report the crimes. At least 22 robberies took place over the last two months in East Los Angeles, but "some vendors have been reluctant to report them for fear of retaliation from the perpetrators and possible immigration problems from authorities. As a result, detectives believe there may be more unreported robberies," explains LA Now. The LA County Sheriffs believed 21-year-old Nery Perez was responsible, and two days ago announced they were looking for him as their prime suspect. Yesterday, Perez "walked into a sheriff's station with several relatives," turning himself in for the crimes, according to cbs2.com. Perez and four others are suspected to have been "committing at least two to three robberies a day," and the LASD estimate the "total losses at $7,000."

A man police thought to be two separate robbers in the downtown area was arrested this week in Skid Row. Anthony Brown, 42, allegedly began a spree of robberies around July 10th and over the weeks dropped so much weight that his appearance changed leading police to believe there were two bandits out there. Drugs appear to be caper in the weight loss and police have not said if they were specifically used to aid in changing his identity.

A number of people in the Western San Fernand Valley have fallen victim to a ploy by two gun-wielding robbers who post cheap cars on Craigslist, arrange a time place to meet and ask the victim to bring cash. A number of them have occurred on De Soto Avenue and Vanowen Street between 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. The LAPD says if you do buy a car off Craigslist, do not take cash and to meet a public place such as a bank or DMV office. Both suspects are described as Hispanic males between 25 and 30 and 130 pounds. One is about 5'7" and the other 5'10". Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact robbery detectives at (818) 756-3523. During off-hours, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Callers may also text “Crimes” with a cell phone or log onto www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips. When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD”. Tipsters may remain anonymous.

Last week Monday, a man in his early twenties dressed like he worked for UPS knocked the door of a 90-year-old Westchester woman saying he had a delivery. When she opened the door, he forced himself in demanding money, according to the LAPD. At some point during the incident police say that he kicked and chocked her before leaving the home on the 9000 block of Chase Avenue, near Loyola Marymount University, with some cash. He is described as a male Hispanic, 22-23 years old, black hair, brown eyes, 6 feet 1 inch tall and 180 pounds. Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact Pacific Area Detectives at (310) 482-6396. During off-hours, calls may be directed to a 24-hour, toll free number at 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (877-527-3247).

One morning two weeks ago, a clerk at Daisy's Market was tied up as two suspects robbed the store and police yesterday released screenshots of them from video surveillance. It was 9:40 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15th when the first suspect entered the store at 3214 Sunset Blvd.. He bought something and then left.

No matter how legal a marijuana dispensary is, drugs and money make them popular targets for crime. One of those such incidents last year on an October afternoon left Noe Gonzalez, a security guard, dead when a robbery attempt by four men went wrong at La Brea Collective on the 800 block of La Brea. And although two of the suspects were immediately caught, two others were on the loose and put on L.A.'s Most Wanted list.

About 30 minutes after Charlie Samuel allegedly killed 17-year-old Lily Burk Friday, leaving her body in her car parked off a Skid Row street, he was detained by police a few blocks away for a Drinking in Public violation. As he was being searched by officers, narcotics paraphernalia was found and he was arrested and booked for Possession of Narcotics Paraphernalia.

Walking on 3rd Street near Kings Road Monday night around 11:20 p.m., a 31-year-old woman was approached by a twenty-something black female who demanded the victim's purse threatening to shoot her if she did not comply. The suspect, described to be 20-25 years-old, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 145 pounds, wearing all dark clothing, then pulled the woman's purse off her arm and shot her in the upper torso before entering a vehicle, according to the LAPD.

Three people have been arrested for posing as undercover police officers in order to rob homes and police believe there are more victims out there. Late last month, three suspects posing as LAPD undercover narcotics officers knocked on an apartment door in the 400 block of N. Normandie Avenue.

A man dressed in a business suit entered the Pizza Hut at 1261 S. Central Ave. in Glendale on Sunday at 11:10 a.m. He produced a gun and crossed over the counter, demanding money from the 18-year-old female shift manager, who was working alone. "He confronted the young woman in the back of the building and, at gunpoint, demanded money from the safe. After getting some cash, he turned around, shot the victim in the shoulder and also took her purse," explains cbs2, adding that the investigation authorities "say they believe he meant to kill her." The restaurant has released surveillance video showing the heist and shooting; the employee was wounded, but is expected to survive. The crime netted the robber "several hundred dollars," according to an abc7 video report.

Thursday night just before 6, alleged marijuana dealer Brian Thomas Caufield was shot and killed inside his apartment near the 5100 block of Woodman Avenue in Sherman Oaks. The suspects posed as police officers in order to gain entry into the home, reports the Daily News. Caufield, 31, was on the phone with his mother when they entered his residence.

Friday morning, residents on South Witmer Street in Westlake heard gunfire and not the sound of Cosme Gonzalez's usual cries declaring the foods he had to sell. The LA Times explains:

In what police are calling an attempted robbery, a man in his 20s approached the 46-year-old Gonzalez about 9:30 a.m. and demanded money. When Gonzalez refused, the man fatally shot him in the chest, police said.

As Silver Lake residents work out communication problems with their local LAPD division, in Sherman Oaks, Senior Lead Officers (SLO) from Van Nuys Division touch base with the community at least three times a month at various monthly meetings and occasional e-mail blasts. Yesterday afternoon, North Sherman Oaks SLO Justin Bergmann warned residents about a new rash of street robberies:

The LAPD's Northeast Division officially announced today the capture of two teenage suspects who may be responsible for at least two of the recent street robberies in Silver Lake and could be linked to similar ones in a other neighborhoods in a nearby police division, Jesus Sanchez from The Eastsider LA reports from an earlier press conference. Police recovered iPods, cell phones, guns and knives from the suspects homes. Two other adult males reported to be arrested Monday are also under investigation for the recent crimes in Silver Lake. No suspects linked to the robberies in Echo Park have been caught yet.

The San Fernando Valley based Snopes.com has gotten to the bottom of an e-mail floating around to Whittier residents describing one driver being told by another driver that their tire is going flat, so they should pull over so the other one could fix it. The driver said no thanks and went home, finding the tire to be perfectly fine. Robbery and car jacking attempt? That's the conclusion of the e-mail and it states it's been happening everywhere because of, you guessed it, the economy. The Whittier Police confirmed that a report as such was filed, but that they did not say this was happening widespread.

After news about a slew of recent robberies caused concern in the Silver Lake and Echo Park communities, the LAPD today announced that they have arrested two suspects.

       

What became clear at Thursday night's packed community meeting about a rash of street robberies in the Silver Lake and Echo Park communities is that police and the community need to work more closely together. The need has always been there, but after residents felt angry when the city was slow to identify and report crime patterns, they took to the streets and internet with the information they had and spread the word themselves.

              

Since December 30th, the Silver Lake and Echo Park communities have experienced ten street robberies where all the victims were males walking alone. Six of them took place in Echo Park around Sunset and Alvarado through the first week of January (only one took place later in the month) and in the last week, four were committed in the Rowena-Hyperion area of Silver Lake. One such incident over the weekend, where the victim later woke up in the hospital, spread like wildfire through e-mails and community-made flyers handed out on the streets.