Robbery of 2 Restaurants Latest in Series

Police are looking for two men who robbed a pair of fast-food restaurants at gunpoint Friday and who may be responsible for as many as 30 similar holdups in the Southland over the past four months.

The lastest robberies occurred at the Beef Bowl in Buena Park and a Domino’s Pizza franchise in Cypress, police said. At least 14 of the other holdups have occurred in those two cities, Buena Park Police Sgt. Terry Branum said. The remainder have taken place in southeast Los Angeles County, in such cities as La Mirada, Downey, Santa Fe Springs, Norwalk and Bellflower.

“These last two are very similar to the others we’ve been having,” Branum said. “It’s the same MO (mode of operation).”

The major difference between the lastest holdups and the ones before is that they occurred during daylight hours, Branum said. “It could be a sign that they are getting bolder,” he noted.

The first holdup occurred at the Domino’s Pizza at 5021 Ball Road in Cypress about 2:45 p.m. One of the robbers ran into the establishment, ordered everyone to the floor, then jumped behind the counter and emptied the cash registers of about $400, police said. The other man was apparently waiting in a getaway car.

About 10 minutes later, while Cypress police were taking reports from two shaken employees at Domino’s, the robbers struck again, this time at the Beef Bowl at 8886 Knott Ave. in Buena Park, less than three miles away.

After ordering a customer and the employees to the floor and taking about $200, the two men drove off in a light-colored compact car, witnesses told police.

No shots were fired and nobody was injured in either robbery.

The method varies slightly from robbery to robbery, police said. Sometimes one robber will enter the restaurant; other times, both will. In all the robberies, at least one weapon--a chrome-plated handgun--was used, Branum said.