‘Bump and Rob’ Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

A Wilshire District man pleaded not guilty Friday to charges that he committed a series of “bump and rob” thefts that victimized women driving expensive cars.

Michael Lee Burton, 30, is accused of stealing 21 cars between Feb. 9 and March 9, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Michelle Rosenblatt. He was charged at his arraignment Friday with 12 counts of grand theft auto, 10 counts of robbery and one count of attempted grand theft auto.

Held in County Jail

He is being held in Los Angeles County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail.

In the series of thefts, a man driving an expensive car would rear-end another luxury car occupied by a lone woman, police said. When the woman would get out of her car to inspect the damage, the man would leap inside her car and drive off, often with the woman’s purse.

Each stolen car would be used in the next theft, where it would be left behind when the man drove off in the new car, police said.

Approximately 15 of the thefts occurred along Ventura Boulevard in the San Fernando Valley, Rosenblatt said. The thefts were apparently aimed at stealing money from the victims’ purses, she said.

About 30 such incidents are under investigation, and Rosenblatt said other suspects may be involved.

The victims included actress Morgan Fairchild, whose Jaguar was stolen in Studio City.

Burton was arrested Tuesday after police saw him driving a Mercedes-Benz that had been reported stolen the previous day from a Pacific Palisades woman.

He had been convicted three times of felonies, including auto theft, according to the Department of Corrections, and was paroled in February from state prison.

Burton is scheduled to appear in Van Nuys Municipal Court on April 7, where a date for a preliminary hearing will be set, officials said.

Before April 7, a lineup will be staged for the victims, Rosenblatt said.