LAPD Seeks Help Finding ‘Burger King Bandits’
The Los Angeles Police Department is seeking the public’s help in finding the “Burger King Bandits,” who detectives say have robbed fast-food restaurants at least 15 times in the last three months.
Five restaurants in the LAPD’s Southeast and Harbor divisions alone were robbed between Sept. 30 and Dec. 19, police said.
There are two sets of robbers, probably gang members who live in the areas of the holdups, police said. The men are always armed and have used a series of getaway cars, including a red Jeep, a black SUV and a gray or black van, police said.
Police described two of the men--who they said committed the majority of the robberies--as black males 25 to 30 years old. One suspect is 5 feet 8 to 5 feet 10 and weighs 150 to 160 pounds, while the other is a few inches taller and 10 pounds heavier, police said.
A surveillance video from a robbery this week at the Burger King at Century Boulevard and Broadway Avenue shows the robbers hitting a pregnant employee with the end of a shotgun and punching another employee in the face. “These suspects were extremely violent,” said LAPD Det. Steve Koman.
Detectives also are trying to find a suspect in a series of armed robberies in the San Fernando Valley. The man is wanted in connection with 17 holdups at supermarket chains, restaurants and music video stores since Oct. 4, police said.
Police described the man as white, 30 to 40 years old, 5 feet 10 to 6 feet tall, with a blond or brown crew cut and a rough complexion. He has been seen driving a silver pickup truck, police said.
Anyone with information is asked to call (213) 485-2511 during the week or (213) 485-2504 on weekends and holidays.
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