Four men were arrested early Monday morning after allegedly robbing two victims at gunpoint near Poinsettia Place and Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, the latest in a string of armed robberies that has rattled the neighborhood in recent weeks. Deputies recovered an imitation firearm and property taken from the victims, and no injuries were reported.
According to WeHo Times, deputies responded to the area at approximately 1:40 a.m. after four masked men approached two adult male victims as they were getting into their vehicle. One of the suspects allegedly pointed a firearm at the pair and demanded their belongings before the group fled in a vehicle, per WEHOonline, which reported the robbery occurred near Jones bar and restaurant, Formosa Cafe and a nearby cannabis shop.
West Hollywood Sheriff's Sergeant Hom told WEHOonline the direction the suspects drove off in was not immediately known, and deputies briefly stopped a black BMW matching the robbery vehicle's description that turned out not to be involved. LAPD Wilshire Division officers later stopped a second black BMW for speeding. WEHOonline reported that the vehicle was the one sought in the robbery investigation and that four suspects were arrested.
Imitation Gun and Stolen Property Recovered
Authorities recovered an imitation firearm along with multiple items belonging to the victims, the same account states. All four men were booked at the West Hollywood Sheriff's Station on suspicion of robbery under California Penal Code Section 211. Authorities had not immediately released the suspects' identities or additional details about the investigation, and WEHOonline reported that no names were provided for the suspects during a call to authorities.
The arrests mark the latest in what WEHOonline's report described as three robberies involving masked men and weapons in West Hollywood in less than two weeks. It remains unknown whether Monday's four arrested suspects are connected to the earlier incidents, according to WEHOonline, which did not resolve that question.
A String of Recent Armed Encounters
On Oct. 8, two men allegedly robbed a male victim in the 8400 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, with one suspect displaying a handgun and the other a knife, per the same WeHo Times report. That night, two masked men approached actor Keegan Allen outside Laurel Supply on Santa Monica Boulevard, demanding his watch and bracelet at gunpoint and knifepoint, according to CBS News Los Angeles. One attacker struck Allen in the face with the gun, and the pair escaped with his watch; Allen sustained a forehead laceration and was evaluated at the scene but was not taken to a hospital, the station reported.
Earlier, on Oct. 1, three masked suspects rushed a man outside Fugazi on the 8700 block of Holloway Drive, shooting him before fleeing, according to KTLA. The victim was hospitalized and treated for his injuries, the outlet reported.
Deputies Step Up Patrols After Recent Attacks
West Hollywood Sheriff's Captain Fanny Lapkin confirmed she was adding deputies to patrol following the recent attacks, WEHOonline reported, though the outlet said it had asked how many deputies would be added, where they would patrol and for how long. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department separately said it was stepping up patrols in West Hollywood in the wake of the Allen robbery, according to ABC7.
Citywide robbery figures showed a decline. Through the end of August, West Hollywood recorded 49 robberies compared with 62 during the same period last year, a 21 percent drop, per CBS News Los Angeles.
Separately, WEHOonline recounted an earlier daytime incident in which two men broke into a duplex on Poinsettia Place through a window in January, before a resident confronted them and the pair fled without taking anything.
