SHERMAN OAKS : Teen-Age Gunman Hijacks, Crashes Car

In the sixth carjacking in less than a week in the central San Fernando Valley, a 16-year-old gunman forced a driver to turn over the keys to his Mustang convertible, then led police on a chase along the Ventura Freeway before crashing the car in Hollywood, the Los Angeles Police Department said Thursday.

Saeid Yomtobian of Sherman Oaks, who was with his girlfriend’s 12-year-old daughter, had parked his car at the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square at Riverside Drive and Woodman Avenue when he was approached about 1 p.m. by a gunman, Detective Mel Arnold said.

The gunman, whose identity was withheld because of his age, demanded Yomtobian’s keys, then left the shopping center in the car, Arnold said. Two security guards from the mall witnessed the robbery and followed the suspect, who drove onto the Ventura Freeway.

It appeared that an Oldsmobile and a Cadillac also followed the gunman from the shopping center onto the freeway, Arnold said. Police officers joined the freeway pursuit near Lankershim Boulevard in North Hollywood.

The youth sped through traffic as he tried to dodge police, but the chase ended near Melrose Avenue in Hollywood, when he lost control of the Mustang and crashed into a fence, Arnold said.

He tried to flee on foot but was apprehended by police, Arnold said. The youth was being held on suspicion of robbery, grand theft auto, felony evading, and hit and run.

Three men and a youth riding in the Oldsmobile also were taken into police custody, but they were released Thursday because there was insufficient evidence to charge them with any crime, Arnold said.