FBI offering $10,000 rewards after pair of armed follow-home robberies caught on tape
The FBI is offering $10,000 rewards for information leading to the arrest of suspects in two recent, follow-home armed robberies that were caught on video in Valley Village and Hollywood.
The first incident was reported around 1:30 a.m. Nov. 27, when two people were being dropped off by a ride-hail driver in the 4800 block of Whitsett Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Video released by the department shows the victims’ vehicle being followed by a blue Toyota Prius and a black Mercedes-Benz GLS SUV before it pulls alongside a curb. The two other vehicles park on a nearby street, and four males emerge and run toward the victims.
The robbers held the victims at gunpoint and demanded jewelry, police said. The victims complied, and the thieves ran back to their vehicles, which left in different directions.
The second robbery occurred around 6 p.m. Dec. 1 as two people were followed to an apartment building in the 1600 block of Formosa Avenue, police said.
The victims were approaching an apartment door when four people armed with handguns surrounded them and demanded their property, police said. The victims complied and were not injured.
Police said the robbers took two expensive watches from the victims.
The incidents come amid an LAPD crackdown on similar crimes, one of which resulted in the death of a man Nov. 23 outside the Bossa Nova restaurant in Hollywood.
In that incident, eight people attempted to rob a woman who had exited a car near the restaurant, police said. A 23-year-old man also exited the car and attempted to intervene before he was shot, police said. The man was armed, police said.
After the fatal robbery, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said he was forming a task force of more than 20 detectives to target such crimes; the Nov. 27 and Dec. 1 robberies are being investigated by that task force.
As of Nov. 27, robberies for the year were up 3.9% citywide compared to the same period in 2020 but were down 13.6% from the same period in 2019, according to the LAPD.
The LAPD advised anyone with information regarding the Nov. 27 or Dec. 1 incidents to call detectives at (213) 486-6840 or to email rhdtipline@lapd.online.
Times staff writer Gregory Yee contributed to this report.
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