Van Nuys Man Robbed Them, 2 Women Testify

A 38-year-old Van Nuys man was identified by two women Friday as the man who beat them and stole their jewelry after following them home from a Studio City shopping center.

Claude Davis, on parole for a burglary conviction at the time of the robberies, was arrested Jan. 10 and charged with 10 counts of robbery and one count of attempted robbery, authorities said.

Police said they do not believe he is connected to a ring of bandits suspected of committing as many as 50 “follow-home” robberies in affluent neighborhoods of the San Fernando Valley, West Los Angeles and Glendale in the past year.

Eleven men were arrested March 3 in those robberies, police said. Two of them have since been released.

On Friday, Joann Puls, 62, testified at a preliminary hearing in San Fernando Municipal Court that Davis followed her home from a shopping center at Ventura and Laurel Canyon boulevards Oct. 18.

Puls said she saw Davis standing by the garage of her Studio City home after she drove inside.

When she stepped toward Davis to look at a piece of paper he was holding, “he lunged, socked me and, the next thing I knew, I was flat on my back,” Puls testified.

Puls said Davis got on top of her, grabbed her throat and pulled three diamond rings off her fingers. “ ‘Do you want to die for these. . . ?’ ” Puls quoted Davis as saying before he fled with her rings, estimated to be worth about $36,000.

Bette Rainer of Studio City testified Friday that Davis fractured her jaw during a Nov. 30 robbery at her home in which a $30,000 ring was taken. She had been followed home from the same shopping area.

Davis’ 11 victims were women ranging in age from 55 to 91, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Lisa Kahn. All were beaten, with some suffering broken fingers and noses, she said. In one case, the victim was beaten but nothing was taken, police said.

If convicted, Davis could be sentenced to 30 years in prison, Kahn said. Davis’ preliminary hearing is scheduled to continue Monday.