Susan Carroll, the longtime owner of Gift Garden Antiques, was bound and her store robbed of cash and jewelry on Tuesday at 10:15 a.m. Alone in her store at 15266 Antioch St. (next to Noah’s Bagels), Carroll was working in the back office when a black male came in, pointed a handgun at her and said, ‘Don’t look at me.’ He then bound her with tape and left her lying face down on the floor. A short time later, Susan heard a customer come into the store talking to her child, and it was only then that she knew the robber was gone. She called out to the customer to come and release her. Four police cars, two unmarked police vehicles and a police helicopter responded to the 911 call. Although Carroll was not able to provide a description of the perpetrator, a nearby employee saw the suspect come out and walk towards Swarthmore. The robber was described as being about 6′ tall and weighing 150 to 175 pounds. ’We responded to the call at 10:20,’ said LAPD Detective Stanley Evans. ‘The robber was also described as wearing all-dark clothes, had a black hat and was armed with a handgun.’ Fingerprints were taken at the scene and surveillance tape from cameras at nearby stores was being scrutinized with the hope of providing a more accurate identification of the male. ’It was scary,’ Carroll told the Palisadian-Post, noting that this is the first robbery in the shop’s 30-year history. The store specializes in old, but not necessarily antique pieces for the home as well as accessories for personal use and gifts. Carroll is a past president of the Pacific Palisades Chamber of Commerce and this year received the Mort Farberow Businessperson Award.
