Man robbed of bank bag by stranger armed with pepper-spray-like substance
Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department detectives are investigating a robbery that occurred Tuesday afternoon, when a man was robbed of a bank bag he was carrying into his La Cañada home by a man armed with a pepper-spray-like substance.
Sgt. Alan Chu, a detective with the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s Station, said a business owner was returning to his home on the 5200 block of Haskell Street at around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday when he noticed an unfamiliar white sedan parked near his home.
He pulled into his driveway and was walking toward the house with a small bank bag containing an unspecified amount of currency under his right arm, Chu said, when he heard footsteps closing in on him.
“He heard somebody running up behind him,” the detective added. “As he was walking, a guy ran up and sprayed something in his face. Then [the robber] grabbed the bag and ran.”
The victim called for help, and the Los Angeles County Fire Department arrived to treat him for a burning and stinging sensation in his eyes. The spray was identified as something similar to pepper spray or mace. Chu said the man was not seriously injured.
The suspect is described as an adult black male, approximately in his mid-20s, with short black hair and brown eyes. At the time of the incident he was wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with red horizontal stripes, blue jeans and tennis shoes.
Anyone who may have information about the incident is asked to call the Crescenta Valley Sheriff’s station at (818) 248-3464.
Twitter: @SaraCardine
