Recently in Robbery Category

A man who wielded a knife in the South Bay Galleria parking lot to rob a mall employee will spend four years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Michael Thompson, 42, of Los Angeles, pleaded no contest to robbery on Monday in Torrance Superior Court just before his trial was set to begin, said District Attorney spokeswoman Jane Robison.

The victim testified at a preliminary hearing in November that Thompson had come into the Starbucks where he worked and caused trouble, including talking about drugs.

On Sept. 19, the victim said Thompson followed him to a bus stop outside the shopping center, brandished a knife and demanded money. The victim said he threw down $40 and ran.

Robbery suspect arrested after early morning street robbery in Hermosa Beach.

Clement Theodore Smith, a 51-year-old from Hawthorne, was arrested by officers at 1:15 a.m. this morning at Aviation and Artesia Boulevard. Smith is on parole for robbery and other serious crimes and had an ankle bracelet on to monitor his location. 

Just after 1 a.m., the victim, a 74-year-old Hermosa resident arrived home in the 2000 block of Hermosa Avenue and he noticed a newer model 4-door Japanese model vehicle stop nearby. He saw the driver get out and appear to walk down the sidewalk. The driver instead ran up to him and knocked him to the ground. The suspect threatened the victim and took his wallet before driving away. 

The victim called the police and a description was broadcast. Officer Eccles from Manhattan Beach Police was at Prospect and Artesia when the call came out and saw the suspect driving east on Artesia. Officers made a stop of the vehicle at Aviation and Artesia. Currency taken from the victim was recovered in the vehicle. 

Each Wednesday, as long as the South Bay police departments keep me supplied with "wanted" fliers, we'll be publishing mugshots of suspects in a variety of crimes, along with surveillance shots and sketches of other baddies, in our print edition.

We'll put them up here as well. Let's call them "Wednesday's Wanted."

Here's today's pair:

Fraud Suspect

Manhattan Beach: Police say this man tried to open a fraudulent credit account on Sept. 7, 2008, at Fry's Electronics using a counterfeit California driver's license.

He was accompanied by a black woman in her 20s. She drove a four-door black mid-1990s Mercedes-Benz. The suspect is black, in his 60s, 6 feet 4 inches tall, 175 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes.

If you know him, call Detective Michael Rosenberger at 310-802-5127.

Masked Bandit

El Segundo: On Aug. 26, 2008, this man in a painter's mask approached an employee at the Chevron gas station at 601 S. Vista del Mar, racked the slide of a black semiautomatic handgun as if to load it and demanded money. He fled with the cash register tray.

The robber is Latino, 23 to 25 years old, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches tall, and 160 to 200 pounds. He wore a gray hooded sweat shirt, black pants and cloth gloves

If you know him, contact Detective Vince Martinez at 310-524-2200.

Detectives are trying to identify three robbers who held up check cashing businesses in Gardena and Carson.

In the crimes, the robbers pointed guns at clerks, ordered employees and customers to lie on the floor, vaulted counters and took cash from the drawers.

Robbers also have taken customers' and employees' wallets and cellular telephones.

"They are in and out pretty quick," Gardena police Detective Michael Ross said.

Surveillance cameras took photographs of some of the robbers as they committed the crimes. Investigators hope someone can provide them with names.

"The main suspect has a very distinct scar on his left cheek," Ross said.

Crimes occurred Jan. 16 at Advance America, 114. W. Carson St. in Carson; Jan. 28 at Payday Advance, 20771 S. Avalon Blvd., in Carson; and Feb. 7 at Payday Advance, 2249 Rosecrans Ave. in Gardena.

In one of the Carson crimes, a robber grabbed a victim by the hair, Ross said.
Witnesses have seen two getaway cars, a white Nissan Maxima with a rear wing, and a gold-colored Buick with chrome wheels and damage to the driver's door.

Here's the wanted flier:
Paydayrobbers.pdf

Anyone with information is asked to call Ross at 310-217-9635.

Here's the LAPD's press release on the Harbor Gateway robbery from Sunday night.


Los Angeles: Los Angeles Police Department detectives are investigating an armed take-over robbery during which a security guard was tied up.

On Sunday, February 15, 2009 at around 8:00 p.m., Harbor Area Officers were called to a warehouse operated by a logistics company located in the 1500 block of Francisco Street in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles. Officers arrived to discover the immobilized security guard and that a robbery had occurred.

A preliminary investigation revealed that several suspects forced entry onto the logistics company property by cutting through a secure rear gate. Simultaneously, suspects drove to the entrance of the property in three semi-trailer trucks. When the guard attempted to stop and detain the drivers for identification, armed men approached the guard and subdued him. The guard was then tied up and left on the ground inside the location.

Two men grabbed a man on a Manhattan Beach street, kicked him and robbed him of his cellular telephone, police said Thursday.

The crime occurred Tuesday at 9:45 p.m. at 9th Street and Highland Avenue, police said.
The robbers fled in a gray vehicle. The victim suffered bruises.

One robber was described as Latino, 18 to 21 years old, 5 feet 9 to 5 feet 11 inches tall. He was wearing a black hooded sweat shirt and blue jeans and had a slight accent.

The second robber was Latino, 18 to 20 years old, 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet tall. He wore a white hooded sweat shirt, blue jeans and brown boots.

The suspect vehicle is described as a newer Toyota 4-door sedan.

This from Hermosa Beach PD today:

A gunman pointed a pistol at a woman in Hermosa Beach last night and threatened to shoot her if she did not hand over her purse.

The robber was among three men who confronted the woman in the 1000 block of Monterey Boulevard at 8 p.m.

She gave them her purse.

The men ran south on Monterey to a car that was driven by a fourth robber. The car was a dark red or burgundy 1990s American made car with four doors.

Police are investigating whether the crime was related to a series of street holdups recently in Manhattan Beach.

A man dressed in "motorcycle leathers" and a helmet pointed two guns at tellers Monday and robbed a Rancho Palos Verdes bank, sheriff's deputies said.

The robbery at the Union Bank branch at 20 Miraleste Plaza possibly was committed by a member of the so- called Sport Bike Crew, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

In each crime, the bandit wears a motorcycle helmet and outfit.

In Monday's crime, the bandit walked in about 10 a.m. and pointed guns at the tellers, Lomita sheriff's Lt. Greg Ahn said.

Eimiller said he possibly had a third weapon.

"There have been two very similar robberies in Long Beach, and there is one attempt in Los Angeles," Eimiller said.

The gunman did not fire the weapons and no one was hurt.

He was last seen riding away on a sport motorcycle south on Palos Verdes Drive East.

Witnesses described him as white, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a small to medium build. He wore black clothing and a red helmet with black stripes or tape on it.

Bank photographs of the robbery were not immediately available. Previous 

photographs of a robber in a blue motorcycle outfit and helmet are available on labankrobbers.org in the serial bandits section.

Anyone with information about him is asked to contact the FBI at 310-477-6565.

Tips also can be made anonymously through the Web site.

A man dressed in "motorcycle leathers" and a helmet pointed two guns at tellers today and robbed a Rancho Palos Verdes bank, deputies said.

The robbery at the Union Bank branch at 20 Miraleste Plaza occurred about 10 a.m., Lomita sheriff's Lt. Greg Ahn said.

The man, wearing a complete motorcycle riding outfit,  held a gun in each hand, but fired no shots.

No one was hurt.

He was last seen riding away on a motorcycle south on Palos Verdes Drive East.
Lomita sheriff's detectives and FBI agents are investigating.

The amount of money taken was not disclosed.