Two men pleaded not guilty Monday and another is awaiting a court date on suspicion of carrying out eight robberies during a one-day spree in Glendora, Azusa and Covina early this month.
Domonique Evans-Knowles, 19, of Glendora and Dominique Carr, 19, of Riverside pleaded not guilty in West Covina Court to charges in connection with the spree, which took place in both the early morning and nighttime hours of Nov. 1, Glendora police and Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office officials said.
The third suspect, 19-year-old Vaughn Autry of Los Angeles, was awaiting arraignment after being released from jail in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to county booking records.
The three men are accused of robbing, and in some cases attacking, pedestrians in their alleged two-day crime spree, Glendora police said in a written statement. In some cases, victims were threatened with a handgun.
“Armed street robberies of this type are unusual for Glendora and we knew we had to act quickly before the suspects struck again,” Glendora Police Chief Rob Castro said. “These types of crimes can turn deadly, so the capture of these suspects was a high priority for us.”
According to the police statement, “The suspects targeted young adult victims walking or riding a bicycle alone in the street after dark.” Items such as wallets and cell phones were stolen.
They would often follow the victims and wait for an opportunity to corner them, Lt. Brian Summers said. Two young man were beaten though not seriously injured, during robberies.
The Nov. 1 robberies linked to the trio include early-morning robberies in the 500 block of East Fifth Street in Azusa; the 500 block of E. Gladstone Street in Azusa; and the 400 block of West Arrow Highway in Covina; as well as nighttime robberies in the 20000 block of East Stephanie Street Drive in an unincorporated county area near Covina; the 1500 block of South Glendora Avenue in Glendora; Gladstone Street and Conchord Lane in Glendora; Gladstone Street and Glencroft Road in Glendora; and the 100 block of West Meda Avenue in Glendora, Summers said.
Authorities were continuing the investigation to see if the men could be linked to additional crimes, Summers said.
An investigation launched immediately after the robbery spree led detectives to arrest Evans-Knowles, the main suspect in the crimes, Thursday at his home in the 400 block of West Gladstone Street, police said. He was found after a car matching the description of one used in the robberies was discovered parked at a Glendora apartment complex.
After further investigation, investigators arrested Carr in Glendora later in the day, and Autry was arrested Friday at his Los Angeles home.
“Evidence linking the men to the crimes was located and some of the stolen property has been recovered,” according to the police statement.
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