Arrests Made In String Of Smash-And-Grab Robberies Downtown
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Police have arrested five young men in connection with a rash of smash-and-grab robberies at jewelry stores in downtown Los Angeles.
The arrests near Sixth Street and Broadway were made Monday, Los Angeles police Lt. Paul Vernon said.
According to authorities, an alert jewelry store merchant called police and reported seeing a silver Cadillac circling a downtown jewelry store three times in five minutes.
Responding officers spotted the Cadillac and noticed its license plate was covered, Vernon said.
That led authorities to make a traffic stop and search the car; finding a hammer, gloves, a large canister of pepper spray and a pillow case, according to Vernon.
Two adults and three juveniles with possible gang ties in South Los Angeles were taken into custody.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
