Three young men, including two teens, were arrested for a series of coordinated armed robberies that targeted 7-Eleven stores. The crime spree occurred across Southern California over nearly 18 hours on Thursday, April 18. The armed robbers were documented on surveillance cameras, showing the suspects demanding cash at five different 7-Eleven locations on the same day.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), five 7-Eleven locations were robbed between 2:45 a.m. and 8:45 p.m., stretching from the Pico-Union area to Rampart Village, with additional stops in Baldwin Park and Pasadena. Investigators believe the same group of suspects is responsible for each of the crimes.
The released security footage begins with the vehicle that the suspects used to carry out their illicit activity. It then transitions to show a man in a grey hoodie and matching sweatpants with a gun aimed at the store clerk as he demands the cash. He can be seen doing the same thing at another location with a different clerk.
In one of the scenes, he reaches over the counter and takes the money from the cash register. In another scene, he pretends to be a customer buying a beverage and then brandishes his firearm when the clerk goes to cash the item. A surveillance camera at a different location shows three armed men entering a different 7-Eleven location.
The first suspect is not among them, but they are all wearing hoodies, two grey and one black. The one in the black brandishes his gun, another opens a bag to receive the cash, and the third stands guard. Shortly after, the armed suspect jumps behind the counter, which is where the video concludes.
The suspects fled the scene of the robbery in what police identified as a stolen blue Hyundai Sonata. During the robberies, at least one individual remained in the getaway car while the others entered the stores and used a blue steel handgun with an extended magazine to intimidate employees.
The armed robbery spree came to an end around 10 p.m. that night. According to reports, officers from the Alhambra Police Department spotted the stolen vehicle and chased the suspects until they were caught in downtown Los Angeles. Three suspects, a 21-year-old Jacuri Tobias, a 17-year-old and a 15-year-old, were taken into custody. One additional suspect remains at large, and the firearm used in the robbery has not been recovered.
