Linked to West Valley Crime Wave : Robbed Just for ‘Thrills,’ Two Tarzana Youths Say

They did it partly for the “kicks” and the “thrills.”

That was how two 16-year-old Tarzana youths explained their involvement in a string of bank, savings and loan and street robberies in the west San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles police said Friday.

The two Taft High School students, whose names were withheld because of their age, were arrested Thursday in Woodland Hills while driving a stolen car. The suspects, both products of affluent homes, allegedly used a handgun and a cattle prod-like device in many of the alleged crimes, Detective Ed Pikor said.

During one robbery, committed a week ago, the youths wore blue uniforms similar to those worn by Los Angeles police officers--complete with gun belts, security guard badges, and actual LAPD shoulder patches, Pikor said.

‘Awfully Sophisticated’

“It’s bizarre for 16-year-olds to be able to plan these kind of robberies,” Pikor said. The crimes “were awfully sophisticated for 16-year-olds to commit.”

Pikor said police will ask the district attorney to charge the youths with several counts of robbery, using a firearm in the commission of a felony, and grand theft auto.

The youths are suspected of robbing an Encino Savings & Loan office of about $5,000 on May 23, Pikor said. He said investigators also believe that the two committed the December robbery of a Barclays Bank in Encino, in which about $2,000 was taken.

The suspects are also being investigated in the holdups of 10 markets and fast-food restaurants over the last two months, the detective said.

‘50% Was for Money’

“One of the kids told me that probably 50% of the reason he did it was for thrills. . . . The other 50% was for money,” Pikor said.

On May 22, the detective said, the youths confronted two women outside a fast-food restaurant in Woodland Hills and threatened her with a .38-caliber handgun and an electrical stun device before stealing her car.

The next day, the two youths--wearing the police uniforms bought from a store that deals in such apparel--walked into the savings and loan office in Encino, Pikor said. They allegedly displayed their weapons, then one youth went from teller to teller collecting cash while the other boy kept watch, the detective said.

“One of the kids told us that the proprietor at the uniform store sold them the uniforms, put on the patches and altered the uniforms while they waited,” Pikor said, adding that the clothing and other items probably cost the teen-agers about $500.

Spotted in Stolen Car

Uniforms were not used in the Barclays bank robbery, he said.

Pikor said the youths were tripped up Thursday when a police officer spotted them in Woodland Hills in the car that had had been stolen May 22.

When the officer attempted to stop the car, the youths sped away, Pikor said. After a short chase, the teen-agers fled into a canyon on foot, but police dogs found them two hours later. The uniforms, along with other evidence, were later found in a car belonging to one of the suspects, the detective said.

Both youths were being held at Sylmar Juvenile Hall on Friday and will face a detention hearing in Sylmar Juvenile Court early next week, police said.