On Monday, just before 6 p.m. on the 700 block of Hartzell, a Pacific Palisades resident was robbed by suspects later connected to four other robberies in an area ranging from Santa Monica to West Los Angeles. According to LAPD Senior Lead Officer Chris Ragsdale, the victim was loading items into his car, which was parked on the street, when a black vehicle, possibly a Nissan, approached him. There were four suspects in the car, described as Hispanic males, 20-25 years of age, wearing white t-shirts and black pants, and armed with a blue steel revolver. The two suspects sitting in the right side of the car got out, approached the resident, drew the handgun and demanded money as well as the victim’s cell phone. The victim complied, and the suspects fled with the victim’s wallet, its contents and the cell phone. The same suspects, who Ragsdale called “serial robbers,” had committed two robberies about an hour earlier near the Westside Pavilion’one at 5 p.m on Westwood Boulevard and another on Pico Boulevard near Veteran. “We were focusing around there for the vehicle,” Ragsdale said. After leaving the Palisades, the suspects committed two other robberies that evening, one of them in Santa Monica. “These guys were quite active,” Ragsdale said. He added that the police could not be sure if the crimes were part of a gang initiation or if the suspects were robbing for sport. The crimes are currently under investigation.
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