On Thursday, nearly two years after a brazen daytime stickup on Rodeo Drive, Beverly Hills police arrested five people from Oakland in connection with a violent robbery that left a man and a woman injured and stripped of designer handbags and an engagement ring.
The Beverly Hills Police Department, working with the United States Marshals Service, took into custody Kingikirah Stevenson, 31; D'Angelo Tedla, 22; Kingelijah Stevenson, 18; Wendel Stevenson, 18; and Jaeyden Duncan, 18, and booked all five on robbery and conspiracy counts. According to CBS Los Angeles, Tedla, Duncan, Kingelijah Stevenson, and Wendel Stevenson were also booked on assault with a deadly weapon charges.
The original robbery unfolded just before 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2024, on the 400 block of North Rodeo Drive, where witnesses and surveillance video show four suspects accosting a couple outside a boutique. One suspect reportedly held the victims at gunpoint while others grabbed two handbags, cash and phones, along with an engagement ring, then fled in a white rental vehicle, Westside Today reported.
Police Chief Mark G. Stainbrook praised the operation, saying, "This case reflects the Beverly Hills Police Department's unwavering commitment to public safety and to holding violent offenders accountable, regardless of where they attempt to flee," according to CBS Los Angeles. The department said it partnered with a U.S. Marshals Service task force to locate and arrest the suspects.
Legal status and charges
All five suspects were booked into the Beverly Hills jail; booking is an administrative step and does not equate to a criminal conviction. Prosecutors will review the investigation before any formal charges are filed and arraignment dates are set.
Why now and local context
Beverly Hills has been targeted by a string of high-profile thefts and daylight robberies in recent years, a trend that investigators say makes multi-agency task forces essential. The city and federal prosecutors handled a separate, high-profile case involving a $1 million watch last August, the U.S. Attorney's Office noted, and local outlets covered the Rodeo Drive assault when it first happened, armed thieves rob couple on Rodeo Drive reported.
Anyone with information about the Nov. 23, 2024 robbery is asked to contact the Beverly Hills Police Department tip line; local coverage of the attack listed the department's tips numbers for witnesses. Beverly Press noted police were seeking witnesses shortly after the incident.
