Armored Car Guard Shot at, Robbed of Cash

A masked gunman robbed an armored car guard of a bag of money outside a grocery store in the Crenshaw district Monday, authorities said.

The gunman fired several shots as the Sectran Armored Car Service guard left Jetro Wholesale Groceries in the 5300 block of Jefferson Boulevard at about 2:30 p.m., Police Officer Jason Lee said. No one was struck.

The robbery was at least the fifth attack involving armored trucks since August.

“The guard was exiting the front door and walking toward his truck when the suspect, armed with a handgun, advanced from the rear and fired several rounds,” Lee said. “The guard dropped the cash bag and retreated into the store.”

The robber picked up the bag and fired again toward the armored truck, where another guard waited inside, Lee said.

The robber fled with two accomplices in a stolen green Chevrolet Astrovan, with a Jetro security officer in pursuit in his car.

“One suspect leaned out of the van and pointed a handgun at the security officer,” who backed off, Lee said.

The robbers abandoned their van a few blocks away and “fled in unknown directions,” Lee said.

On Feb. 6, robbers killed a Brinks guard as he delivered money to a cash machine in an Albertson’s supermarket in the San Fernando Valley. The men escaped with an undisclosed amount of money.

In December, a security guard was wounded during an attempted robbery of an armored truck in South-Central Los Angeles. The same month, an armored truck driver was killed in a holdup in West Hollywood.

In August, a shopper was killed in a Van Nuys Costco parking lot when robbers opened fire on an armored truck guard.