Local News in Brief : Suspect in 4 Restaurant Robberies Arrested

A man suspected in at least four restaurant robberies--including a Studio City one in which a sanitation truck was used for the getaway--was arrested after a car left at a robbery scene was traced to him, Los Angeles police reported Monday.

Ahmed Salah Eldon, 24, was arrested at a Santa Monica motel on suspicion of armed robbery, Detective Jim Wegman said. Police believe he is the gunman who robbed employees at the Seafood Broiler on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City on Wednesday.

After being chased Wednesday by a witness who had been at the restaurant, the suspect jumped into a nearby sanitation truck, police said. He then forced the driver at gunpoint to drive away, police said.

Another witness told police that the suspect had stepped out of a Mercedes-Benz parked near the restaurant before the robbery. Police impounded the car, finding in it about $3,500 that detectives traced to three other area robberies, Wegman said.

Wegman said police traced the user of the vehicle to a Wisconsin address, then to a West Los Angeles house and then to the Santa Monica motel where Eldon was arrested Saturday night.