HUNTINGTON BEACH : 2nd Suspect Arrested in ’87 Store Robbery

Almost four years after a department store was robbed here, police said Tuesday that they have arrested a second suspect in the case.

Richard Neal McVay, 34, was arrested near his Los Angeles residence after police discovered that his description matched that of the second suspect in a 1987 Huntington Beach robbery. McVay was identified largely because of a tattoo on his left hand, police said.

In September, 1987, two men with handguns held up the Mervyn’s department store at 9811 Adams Ave. One of the suspects, Lavester Lee Jackson, 26, was arrested in December, 1987, and convicted of armed robbery in early 1988, Police Lt. Ed McErlain said.

Since then, police had been looking for the second suspect, who they believed had fled to Virginia, McErlain said.

McVay was charged with armed robbery and may also face charges of unlawful flight, McErlain said. He is being held in City Jail in lieu of $50,000 bail.