2 Explorer Scouts Held After Holdup

Two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Explorer scouts were arrested Monday by deputies after an armed robbery at a Taco Bell stand in Walnut, where one of them worked and the other was a frequent customer.

Steven Rudas, 19, was taken into custody after the manager at the fast-food outlet recognized him--despite the mask he wore during the robbery--as a regular customer, deputies said. The manager showed deputies Rudas’ photograph in a high school yearbook.

The 17-year-old accomplice--a Taco Bell employee who lives in Walnut--was arrested a short time later after the manager said the youth had often chatted with Rudas during visits to the food stand and told them the youth had let Rudas into the outlet at 864 Nogales St. after closing hours on Sunday night, deputies said.

Investigators said Rudas herded four employees into a walk-in freezer and had the 17-year-old--who posed as a victim--tie up the manager before fleeing with $7,000 from the outlet’s safe.

Rudas was arrested early Monday at his home in Covina, where the mask, the handgun and the money were recovered, deputies said.