Thieves armed with stun gun hit 2 retail shops in Southern California
Police are investigating two separate retail robberies involving three suspects, one of whom was armed with a stun gun, authorities announced Wednesday.
The first robbery occurred on April 5 just before 2:30 p.m. at a retail shop in the 4000 block of South Main Street near the Historic South-Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, according to a news release from the Los Angeles Police Department.
One man and two women entered the store and began selecting merchandise. The trio was confronted by an employee as they attempted to leave the store without paying. That’s when police say the male suspect, identified as 35-year-old L.A. resident Antwaun Pollard, threatened store employees with the stun gun before fleeing with the merchandise.
“Officers were able to locate and arrest the male suspect with the assistance of Loss Prevention, however, the two female suspects eluded capture and the taser was not recovered,” police said.
Five days later, on April 10, at around 2:10 p.m., two female suspects walked into another retail shop just one and a half miles away in the 3200 block of South Central Avenue and committed a nearly identical theft.
When they were confronted by employees as they attempted to leave the store without paying for the merchandise, police say one of the women was armed with a stun gun as they fled the scene.
Authorities believe there may be other victims of the trio and have released Pollard’s picture to locate and interview any other potential victims.
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The two outstanding suspects are described as Black women, both short in stature, between the ages of 25 to 30 years old, police said.
Anyone with information about these incidents or additional crimes the trio may have been involved in is urged to contact LAPD’s Newton Robbery Division at 323-318-3559. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at L.A. Crime Stoppers.
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