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A search perimeter was set up across a section of West Hollywood Monday night after two people were robbed at gunpoint on Sunset Boulevard. The perimeter, which covered an area south of Melrose between La Cienega and San Vicente and surrounding blocks, remained in place until the early morning. No one was allowed in or out, and West Hollywood sheriff's deputies instructed residents to remain inside with their doors and windows locked.The robbery occurred just after 8:30 p.m. near the intersection of Sunset and Hilldale, just blocks from the legendary Whiskey a-Go-Go and Viper Room (R.I.P. River Phoenix) clubs, and a terrifying .1 miles from my sister's home. Detective Greg Boagni of the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station told LAist that the victims were robbed of some very expensive watches by three suspects.
Which intersection you heading towards?
— LASD West Hollywood (@WHDLASD) May 17, 2016
"I don't want to put the name of the watches out there just yet, because they are very specific," Boagni said.
It is not yet known if the victims were individually targeted for the watches, or if it was merely a crime of opportunity. The perimeter was put in place after the suspects' car was spotted by deputies in the aforementioned Melrose neighborhood. According to Boagni, even residents weren't allowed to exit the perimeter. The extensive search involved police dogs and a helicopter crew, along with a team of deputies on the ground.
"Please stay inside and duck!" my Jewish mother advised my sister in a series of neurotic but well-intentioned text messages. "Julia, where is the shooter?" she asked me via text message after instructing me to call the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station "like a reporter." A 9:52 p.m. call to the station revealed no new information, much to the dismay of my anxious family.
Further calls to the station placed this morning were much more fruitful, and we learned that one suspect had been taken into custody in the morning, after the perimeter had already been disassembled. The other two suspects remain at large. My mother already appears to have forgotten all about the terror of last night and is now repeatedly texting me about scheduling a dentist appointment.
