Youth Arrested as Suspect in Holdup String

Los Alamitos police arrested a teen-ager late Thursday in connection with a string of robberies in Orange and Los Angeles counties, allegedly to support his “rock cocaine” habit, authorities said Friday.

The 17-year-old, whose name was withheld because of his age, was booked into Orange County Juvenile Hall on suspicion of robbing a hamburger stand and a convenience store in Los Alamitos within several hours of each other last Sunday and early Monday, police said.

Los Alamitos Police Sgt. William Barrett said the suspect also was wanted on a no-bail warrant for violation of parole issued by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

He was taken into custody after officers, investigating a report of trespassing Thursday evening at a small apartment complex in Los Alamitos, determined that he matched the description of the suspect in the earlier robberies.

Police Say He Confessed

Barrett said the suspect “confessed to the two robberies and implicated himself in four additional robberies, three in Los Angeles County and one in the city of Cypress.”

“He said he was supporting a rock cocaine habit and that he had been going through quite a bit of money in the past few days,” Barrett said.

Most of the robberies involved fast-food stands, convenience stores and gas station mini-markets, he added.

Barrett said that about $45 was taken in the 8 p.m. robbery Sunday of Supreme Hamburger on Los Alamitos Boulevard. About $100 was taken in the holdup early Monday morning of U-Food, a convenience store also on Los Alamitos Boulevard. In both cases, the bandit indicated that he was armed, Barrett said.