Crime & Safety
5 Arrested In Armed Robbery And Police Chase
Five people suspected of robbing a man at gunpoint for his Rolex led police on a chase from Wilshire Boulevard to Hollywood.
HOLLYWOOD, CA — A victim was robbed at gunpoint in Beverly Hills, allegedly by three men and two teenage boys who were all taken into custody after initially eluding law enforcement in a vehicle pursuit, police said Friday.
The robbery occurred around 4:50 p.m. Thursday in the 8600 block of Wilshire Boulevard near La Cienega Boulevard, where five suspects approached the victim and at least one of them produced a handgun as the assailants demanded the victim's Rolex watch, according to Beverly Hills Police Department Lt. Andrew Myers.
Myers said a Beverly Hills city employee witnessed the crime and notified police.
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Investigators were able to identify and locate the suspects' vehicle, but the driver refused to pull over, sparking a short pursuit.
According to Myers, a Los Angeles Police Department helicopter crew aided in the chase and followed the vehicle into Hollywood, where the suspects exited the car near Afton Place and North El Centro Avenue.
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"BHPD officers and officers from the LAPD Hollywood Division quickly established a containment. After the search, all five suspects were arrested, and evidence related to the crime was recovered from the vehicle," Myers said in a statement.
Investigators identified the suspects as 18-year-old Xavier Ford, 23- year-old Gangster Lawson, and 18-year-old Nasir Blocker, all of whom are residents of Oakland. The two teens -- 16 and 17 -- were not identified due to their ages.
Ford and Lawson were booked on suspicion of assault with a firearm and conspiracy, while Blocker was booked on suspicion of robbery, police said.
City News Service
