Police Kill 3 Robbery Suspects; 1 Wounded

Detectives from a controversial undercover Los Angeles police unit killed three suspected robbers and wounded one other Tuesday night in a shootout in a Northridge neighborhood, authorities said.

The suspects were shot by officers from the Special Investigations Section, said LAPD Cmdr. Tim McBride.

The unit gained notoriety for following suspected career criminals and has been involved in several controversial shootings.

Investigators were working surveillance on a group of men who were robbing bars in the west San Fernando Valley in the last few days. About 20 bars were robbed in the last few days.

Police spokesman Eduardo Funes said no officer was injured.

All the dead and injured were young men.

The incident took place in the area of Corbin Avenue and Roscoe Boulevard about 9:40 p.m., said Los Angeles City Fire Department spokesman Brian Humphrey.

Humphrey said ambulance crews summoned by police found one man dead near the corner of Roscoe and Corbin, and another dead man about half a block north, near Schoenborn Street.

A third man died of a head wound at Northridge Hospital Medical Center, where a fourth man was in serious condition with wounds in the lower body.

A large number of police officers combing the neighborhood located a fifth suspect shortly after 11 p.m. A police dog located the suspect, police said.

Police did not immediately reveal details of the robbery or the shootings.

The shootings took place two blocks from the apartment complex where Neighborhood Watch volunteer Pedro Banegas worked before he was killed in an ambush Thursday as he and his wife left a night school English class at Reseda High School. There was no known connection between the incidents.

The SIS is part of the Detective Support Division five specialized units staffed by officers with specific areas of expertise, such as gangs, who assist detectives with investigations.

The SIS unit has been criticized for tailing suspects wanted in other cases and not apprehending them in some instances until they had committed additional crimes.

Other units in the division include the Criminal Conspiracy Section, Fugitive Warrants, Asian Crime Investigation Section and Career Criminal Apprehension Section.

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Times staff writers Miles Corwin, Nieson Himmel and Efrain Hernandez contributed to this story.