Crime & Safety
2 Arrested For String Of Gas-Station Purse Thefts: Police
Two men are accused of driving between gas stations one afternoon and stealing from cars that were parked at gas pumps, police said.
SANTA MONICA, CA — Two men have been arrested in connection to a string of thefts where they stole purses and other items from vehicles parked at gas pumps over a one-hour period, according to the Santa Monica Police Department.
The first incident occurred on April 24 at 12:24 p.m. when a Nissan Altima with three occupants pulled into a Chevron on Santa Monica Boulevard and stopped next to the open door of a car getting gas. One of the suspects snatched the victim's purse from the front seat, police said.
Seven minutes later, the same Altima pulled into the Sinclair at Pico Boulevard and 20th Street and stopped in front of another victim's car, which was parked at the pumps. A passenger sitting in the back of the Altima got out, opened the victim's car door, took the victim's purse from the car, and fled with the other suspects, police said.
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Around 30 minutes later, the same suspects shattered the window of a vehicle parked at the Shell station at Pico and Lincoln boulevards and stole a laptop, iPad and other property, according to police.
SMPD, with the assistance of the Hawthorne Police Department, tracked and arrested three suspects. Officers recovered several hundred dollars and most of the victims' stolen property, police said.
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On Friday, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office filed felony burglary and grand theft charges against two Bay Area men: Raul Santino Lopez, 20, and Agustin Jesus Vega, 21, both of Richmond, police said.
"None of the arrestees have a significant arrest history in California," police said.
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