Police and city officials announced
Tuesday the arrest of two male juveniles in connection with the recent string
of armed robberies in Silver Lake and Echo Park. The suspects, 15 and 16-year-old residents of
East Hollywood, may be involved in the cluster of four robberies that occurred
near the corner of Rowena and Hyperion Blvd., said Capt. Bill Murphy,
commanding officer of the Northeast Division of the Los Angeles Police
Department.
"The only commonality is that [the
victims] were single males," said Murphy.
Tuesday's news conference came after
a month of heightened concerns among residents in Silver Lake and Echo
Park. There were ten robberies, four
near the corner of Rowena and Hyperion in Silver Lake and six near the corner
of Alvarado and Sunset in Echo Park, since Dec. 31. Each incident included bodily force, with one
victim going to the hospital with a broken jaw.
Undercover police officers were able
to figure out the identities of the suspects in two of the robberies before
making Saturday's arrest, said Murphy.
Officers familiar with the suspects' gang searched for them on Saturday
night, arresting six men in the street that night, said Murphy during the press
conference.
Two of the men arrested were booked
on weapons charges, two were released and two are the Silver Lake
suspects. Police also connected the
suspects to a recent robbery in Rampart Division.
"They were mobile, they were out
looking for victims," said Murphy.
After the arrest, the officers
obtained a search warrant for the suspects' residence. There they found guns, knives, stolen Ipods and
cell phones. The confiscated items were
displayed during Tuesday's press conference.
The cell phones were used by police to trace the suspects back to the
Silver Lake robberies, said Murphy.
Murphy added that the six robberies
in Echo Park are most likely the work of a different gang. All ten of the robbery cases are considered
open, said Murphy.
Also at the press conference were
L.A. City Councilman Tom LaBonge and City Council President Eric Garcetti. Both commended the work of the police and
both encouraged residents to refrain from listening to their Ipods or talking
on their cell phones when out late at night.
LaBonge added that an LAPD detective
once said there are only two kinds of people out after midnight: cops and
criminals.
The councilman went on the say that
he thought minors should be off the street late at night. "A curfew should be enforced in Los Angeles,"
said LaBonge.
All but one of the ten robberies occurred after midnight.
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