Los Angeles Police have nicknamed him the “Opportunistic Bandit” because he’s struck at least a dozen times at targets of opportunity since April 14.
He was unarmed but violent, kicking and punching his victims. His targets have been mostly women using ATM machines at convenience stores or service stations.
Police believe the same suspect, acting alone, has struck at least 19 times in recent weeks in Los Angeles, Glendale, Pasadena, Hollywood, Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.
http://liarcatchers.com/electronic_surveillance.html
The LAPD Robbery Homicide Division held a news conference Tuesday morning in the hopes of identifying the suspect who detectives say has also carjacked five vehicles and committed a myriad of other crimes including street robberies, burglary from motor vehicles, theft from motor vehicles, and vandalism.
They said the suspect uses physical force rather than display a weapon to rob his victims and in one instance, he attacked a 76-year-old woman to get her cash.
Police believe he normally waits for his victim to retrieve cash from an ATM before pouncing.
They described their suspect as an African-American male, 25 to 35 years old, 180 to 250 pounds between 5 foot 10 and 6 foot 4.
They said each of the victims has identified the suspect from the surveillance video, including footage that caught him on April 15 at a Chevron station near Hollywood and Highland.
The suspect is seen following the victim into the station and then to her car.
“Once she got in the car, he beat her up and took that car,” said Det. Tom Thornton with LAPD.
Police are looking for the cars he is suspected of stealing, among them a 2000 silver Mercedes with California license plate 6BUF553; and a 2006 Toyota Highlander with California license plate 5TRV609.
Anyone with information about the case should contact the LAPD at 1-877-527-3247.
