Man Found Guilty in Series of Holdups

A robber who specialized in invading homes in well-to-do hillside neighborhoods, sometimes tying up children and on one occasion holding up a dinner party at gunpoint, was found guilty Monday of 30 crimes.

A Van Nuys Superior Court jury deliberated two days before finding Gregory Glenn Evans guilty on 22 counts of residential robbery, five counts of residential burglary and three counts of car theft. The jury acquitted Evans on four counts of assault with a firearm, and was unable to reach a decision on two counts of robbery and one count of burglary.

Evans faces a sentence of up to 57 years for the crimes, which occurred between March 19 and May 3, 1988, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Shellie Samuels, the prosecutor.

Evans had been paroled from state prison on robbery and grand theft charges a few months before the crimes, police said.

Working with several accomplices, Evans preyed upon residents of posh homes south of Ventura Boulevard in Studio City, Sherman Oaks, Tarzana and Encino and in West Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills, prosecutors said.

Two other men who aided Evans have been convicted and sentenced in connection with some of the crimes, said Samuels. The case against a third man was dropped after a key witness refused to testify, she said.

Evans and the other men entered the homes through open windows or garage doors, rousing many victims as they slept. They sometimes tied up their victims in bedsheets before taking cash and jewelry, Samuels said.

Thirteen of the 22 counts stem from the robbery at gunpoint of 14 elderly people at a dinner party in Encino. Evans and at least three accomplices held the hostess at gunpoint and stole jewelry, purses, wallets and the hostess’ fur coat.

On April 9, 1988, Evans tied up children, ages 6 and 8, while robbing their parents’ West Los Angeles home, Samuels said. The next day, while robbing a home in Tarzana, Evans tied up an 8-year-old girl and stole $126 in change from a jar in her room, Samuels said.

On May 1, 1988, Evans and two other men robbed the Encino home of criminal-defense attorney Sammy Weiss, threatening to dismember his girlfriend’s baby unless Weiss told him the location of his safe, Samuels said.

Evans’ attorney, Deputy Public Defender Randall MeGee declined to comment on the case.