COVINA — Sheriff’s deputies arrested an 18-year-old Covina man Friday on suspicion of robbing an 11-year-old boy of a scooter he had just received as a Christmas present, authorities said.
Francisco Rodriguez was booked on suspicion of strong-arm robbery following his arrest Friday afternoon at his home in the 1300 block of Citrus Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Sgt. Kirk Smith said.
The boy had just received the scooter as a Christmas gift from his mother and was riding it shortly before 2 p.m. in the 18600 block of East Arrow Highway, in an unincorporated area near Covina, the sergeant said.
“The suspect pushed him off the scooter, took the scooter and ran off with it,” Smith said. The boy was not injured.
When deputies responded to interview the boy, they learned the suspect had an “unusual haircut,” Smith said. “He had dark black hair with a white streak down the middle like a skunk.”
A deputy following up on the case began asking around the area about the skunk-striped suspect, officials said.
“One place led him to another place, which led to another,” Smith said. Officials ultimately found the suspect sleeping on the porch of his home on Citrus Avenue.
The boy’s scooter was recovered from another location after Rodriguez told deputies where to find it, Smith said. Deputies returned it to the 11-year-old boy on Friday.
According to county booking records, Rodriguez was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail pending his initial court appearance Wednesday in West Covina Superior Court.