2 ‘Uzi Bandits’ Tied to Murder, Three Shootings

Two members of the so-called Uzi Bandits gang gunned down three men in Hollywood early Thursday and may be responsible for the murder of a fourth man less than three hours later when they shot him as he defended his mother, Los Angeles police said.

Detectives said the same gang is suspected in about two dozen armed street robberies in Hollywood this summer, including three in which victims were shot with a short-barreled Uzi-type submachine gun.

Detectives characterized the Uzi Bandits as “very dangerous . . . very scary.”

The murder victim was identified as Roberto Villamoro, 25, who was shot in the chest an instant after he went into a karate stance when a bandit pulled a gun on him and his mother just outside their home in the Wilshire area at 5:45 a.m.

Rampart Division Detective Robert Cammacho said Rosario Villamoro, the victim’s mother, was unable to describe the weapon except to say it was “a big gun.” However, Cammacho said the physical descriptions of the gunman and his crime companion and their robbery technique were “very similar” to those of members of the Uzi Bandits who shot down three young Latinos three miles away in Hollywood at 3 a.m.

Cammacho said Villamoro and his mother were walking from the front door of their home to their car to drive to the airport when they were stopped by the bandits.

One of them pulled the gun and pointed it at the Villamoros, Cammacho related, and the son immediately went into a karate stance in an attempt to defend his 50-year-old mother. Without a word, the gunman fired at least one shot, hitting Villamoros in the chest, apparently killing him instantly.

The robbers, both described as Latinos in their mid-20s, then took the dead man’s wallet and fled.

Two bandits also were involved in the Hollywood shootings. Detective David Steinbacher said they approached three Latinos who were talking on the sidewalk in the 900 block of El Centro Avenue. One bandit, wearing a trench coat, opened it to show the victims the weapon tucked into his waistband.

Orders in Spanish

Steinbacher said the second man, apparently unarmed, ordered the three victims to hand over their money and valuables. He spoke in Spanish.

When they apparently failed to respond quickly enough, the second bandit hit two of the young men in their faces with his fist, and then grabbed an undetermined amount of cash and jewelry.

At that point, Steinbacher said, one of the victims ran. The detective said the gunman opened fire, pumping out at least five shots in rapid succession. One victim was hit in the arm, the other two in the upper body. The robbers escaped in an older-model foreign car similar to one used in several other Uzi Bandit robberies.

One Seriously Wounded

The three wounded men were taken to Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. One was released after treatment of a minor arm wound. Another, 52, was reported in fair condition, and the third, 31, was in serious condition.

Detectives asked that names of the three Hollywood victims not be released for fear of possible retaliation.

The Uzi is a rapid-fire submachine gun originally used by the Israeli armed forces. However, police said there are a number of semiautomatic weapons on the market that look like the Uzi and that can be converted to fully automatic firing with a relatively simple mechanical modification.

Steinbacher said that in three earlier street robberies, the Uzi-type gun was used to shoot victims. In about 18 to 20 other robberies, usually in residential areas of Hollywood, gunmen believed to be members of the same gang used conventional handguns but did not fire them.

The detective said it is believed the gang is made up of four to six individuals ranging in age from the mid-20s to about 40.