Local News in Brief : North Hollywood Man Held in Holdup Spree
A North Hollywood man has been arrested on suspicion of robbing four liquor stores of cash and liquor in a one-hour crime rampage along Woodman Avenue, police said Tuesday.
John Eugene White, 28, a machine shop worker, allegedly brandished a handgun and “demanded money and a bottle of booze--vodka” at four liquor stores in Panorama City and Van Nuys on Monday night, said Detective Rockey Kennedy. White had about $800 and six bottles of liquor when he was arrested at 10 p.m., Kennedy said.
Police said White attempted to evade arrest by pretending to pump gas into his car at a filling station at the corner of Coldwater Canyon Avenue and Moorpark Street in North Hollywood as a police patrol car drove by. He was arrested without incident.
At 9:10 p.m., the holdup man fired one shot into the air from a handgun at the first liquor store he robbed at 13560 Roscoe Blvd., Kennedy said. He then drove south along Woodman Avenue, hitting stores at 7145 Woodman Ave., 13654 Victory Blvd. and 13674 Oxnard St., police said.
White was being held in Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $6,000 bail.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
