Slaying Suspect Eludes Raid in Calabasas
A Sheriff’s Department special weapons team, alerted that an 18-year-old murder suspect might be barricaded inside his Calabasas home early Saturday morning, sealed off the neighborhood and lobbed tear gas in the house but found it empty, authorities said.
The suspect, Robert Rosenkrantz, is charged with the June 28 shooting death of Steven Redman, a 17-year-old Calabasas High School student.
Deputies said they received two calls at 1 a.m. Saturday from neighbors who said they had seen Rosenkrantz driving a red Mustang near his home on Bluebird Drive near Old Topanga Canyon Road.
Lost Sight of Car
A sheriff’s deputy who was in the area followed Rosenkrantz’s car but lost sight of it near his home, Sgt. Steve Finley said.
The special weapons team was called because Rosenkrantz is suspected of shooting Redman with a semiautomatic weapon and might have been armed, Finley said.
The special weapons team set up a command post about three-quarters of a mile from the Rosenkrantz home, deputies said.
At 7:45 a.m., deputies fired six rounds of tear gas into the house and then searched it, but found no one inside, Finley said.
Deputies said they believe the suspect escaped on a street that was not sealed off.
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