Sheriff’s officials Tuesday announced the arrests of two men and a juvenile in connection with a series of armed robberies throughout Los Angeles County.
Malik Arthur, 19, and Thomas Rollins, 22, were arrested along with a teenage boy by Pasadena police on May 31 during a robbery at a doughnut shop, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
The suspects matched descriptions of males involved in a series of robberies at convenience stores, gas stations and doughnut shops throughout the county, according to Sgt. Michael Maher of the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau’s Burglary-Robbery Task Force.
“During the commission of these robberies, the assailants would enter the locations armed with a handgun,” Maher said. “The suspects would order clerks to open cash registers (and) they would proceed to steal cash, miscellaneous grocery items and lottery tickets. The suspects and weapon appeared to be the same in each of these robberies.”
The businesses targeted by the suspects were in an unincorporated area around Covina and the cities of Torrance, Bellflower, South Gate and Fontana, along with heists in various parts of Los Angeles.
After being arrested in Pasadena, the suspects were questioned by sheriff’s detectives, and they “admitted their involvement in several of the armed robberies,” Maher said.
He said the suspects were linked to 10 robberies in addition to the one in Pasadena.
Arthur was being held in lieu of $1.425 million bail and Rollins in lieu of $75,000, according to sheriff’s inmate records.
Both are scheduled to appear in court in Pasadena on July 20. The juvenile also remains in custody pending a district attorney’s review of his case, according to the sheriff’s department.
