Local News in Brief : Suspect Held in Robberies
A reputed gang member accused of killing a bystander while shooting at a rival gang member in Westwood has been charged with three unrelated armed robberies.
Prosecutors said Durrell DeWitt Collins, 21, held up three groups of people driving cars in various locations throughout the county, including Altadena and East Los Angeles.
Deputy Dist. Atty. Michael Knight said Collins, armed with either a shotgun or a pistol, would order his victims out of their cars, take their money and valuables, then speed off in their cars.
Collins favored people driving 1977 or 1978 Oldsmobiles because he and other gang members apparently liked to steal the wheels on those cars for use on their own vehicles, Knight said. The robberies occurred Oct. 14, Nov. 15 and Jan. 20, the last one 10 days before the Westwood slaying.
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