On Sunday, April 3, Christopher Ragsdale, Senior Lead Officer, West Los Angeles Community Police Station, issued the following “Business Robbery Summary” in Pacific Palisades for March, detailing what he described as “a sharp increase in business robberies in the Pacific Palisades area.”
On 3/14/05, at 7:25 p.m. in the 14700 block of Pacific Coast Highway. A suspect described as a male, Hispanic, brown hair, brown eyes, 5’ 10″ tall, 180 to 190 Lbs, 25 to 30 years, with curly hair, entered the gas station/convenience store and displayed a hand gun demanding money from the cash register. When the clerk refused to comply, the suspect grabbed a box of candy bars from the counter and fled on foot. The box of candy bars was valued at $20.
On 3/19/05, at 12:45 p.m. at the Bank of America located at 15314 Sunset Boulevard. A suspect described as a male, white, dark brown hair, 5’5″, 150 to 160 lbs., mid 30s, wearing blue jeans, an olive green jacket, and white baseball hat with a “S” on the front, green colored bill, entered the bank and waited in the teller line. The suspect approached the teller and presented a demand note stating he was armed and robbed the teller. The suspect then fled on foot.
On 3/24/05, at approximately 5:40 p.m., at the Bank of America located at 15314 Sunset Boulevard. A suspect described as a male white, mid 20s to 30s, wearing a mask and carrying a canvas bag entered the bank and approached the victim teller. The suspect claimed to have an explosive device inside of the bag and attached it to the victim teller. The suspect robbed the bank and fled on foot from the location leaving the possible device attached to the victim teller. The area was evacuated and the LAPD Bomb Squad responded. This caused the evacuation and closure of most of the Palisades Village area businesses and streets for several hours. The incident is being investigated by the LAPD Robbery Homicide Division, FBI and LAPD Criminal Conspiracy Unit.
On 3/30/05, at approximately 9:45 p.m., an armed robbery occurred at Mort’s Palisades Deli located at 1035 Swarthmore Avenue. Two suspects described as male, African Americans, late teens to early 20s, wearing dark hooded sweatshirts and masks, entered the restaurant while displaying a handgun. The suspects approached the cashier and demanded the money from the register. After receiving the cash from the register, the suspects fled on foot through the rear alley towards Sunset Boulevard.
Six units from the LAPD-West Los Angeles area responded to the scene and surrounding area for the on-scene investigation and area search for the suspects.
The first unit arrived on scene within two minutes of the call being dispatched. The incident is being investigated by the West Los Angeles Area Robbery Homicide Unit.Anyone with any information about these or other robberies can contact Ragsdale by phone or email: office: (310) 575-8423; cellular: (310) 622-3980; email: 26690@lapd.lacity.org
