Six arrests have been made and six other suspects are being sought in relation to what the Los Angeles Police Department has described as a “flash rob” style robbery at the Westfield Topanga Mall in Canoga Park, Calif. on Friday.
The LAPD’s Organized Retail Crime Task Force said Monday that the incident involved 12 people, who ran into two stores, and stole more than $90,000 worth of merchandise “within minutes” on Friday around 5:15 p.m. PST. The suspects were wearing masks and hooded sweatshirts and they “overwhelmed the security and knocked over numerous display shelves.”
“Detectives are not releasing the victims’ names (retailers) in this incident,” according to a spokesperson for the LAPD. Photos of the suspects fleeing the scene show each person carrying what appears to be designer handbags.
Media requests to the Westfield Topanga Mall, and its security team, were not immediately responded to Tuesday.
The shopping center has 176 stores including luxury ones like Gucci, Balenciaga, Ferragamo, Christian Dior, Celine, Cartier, Burberry, Bottega Veneta, Versace, Valentino, Neiman Marcus and others.
The LAPD’s ORCTF responded to the scene and took on the investigation, working in conjunction with LAPD Topanga area officers and mall security. The ORCTF quickly identified the potential suspects and the vehicles that were believed to have been involved with the crime.
About four and a half hours after the incident, the LAPD Southwest area officers located and detained one of the vehicles that was linked to flash robbery suspects with five occupants. The ORCTF detectives then reported to the Southwest station and identified the five occupants as being present and actively involved in the robbery, according to the LAPD. The five — two of whom included juveniles — were arrested and charged with robbery. The three adults who were arrested were all Los Angeles residents — Joshua Jones, 22, Amaya McDonald, 19, and Justin Jones, 18.
Later that night shortly before midnight, the Huntington Police Department officers located and detained a second vehicle involved in the flash robberies at the Westfield Topanga Mall. After being contacted by the HBPD, the ORCTF detectives assisted in continuing the investigation. The HBPD recovered stolen property inside of the vehicle that the ORCTF verified had been stolen during the flash robbery. The driver, Rajene Robinson, a 26-year-old Los Angeles resident, was arrested for felony possession of stolen property.
Authorities request that anyone with information about the Oct. 4 incident or similar ones call the LAPD’s detectives in its commercial crimes division, organized retail section at 818-374-9437. In addition, videos or information related to the incident can be submitted via email at the [email protected]. During non-business hours or on weekends, calls should be directed to 877-527-3247. Those who wish to remain anonymous should call Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
The LAPD has been dealing with other types of flash robberies in recent months. Since July, at least 14 incidents have occurred at area 7-Eleven stores with groups of 20 to 40 people often arriving by bicycles and overwhelming store employees, stealing and damaging property. Thirteen of the 14 incidents occurred on Friday nights, according to the LAPD.
More brazen thefts have become a growing concern for national chain stores and independent boutiques, with some having increased safety precautions with more surveillance cameras, on-site security guards, pre-booked appointments for shopping and locked cases for high-ticketed items like designer handbags. More brazen thefts have become an increased concern for national chain stores and independent boutiques, with some having increased safety precautions with more surveillance cameras, on-site security guards and locked cases for high-ticketed items like designer handbags.
The New York Police Department continues to investigate a Sunday night break-in at Chanel’s Madison Avenue store on the Upper East Side. Two suspects used a sledgehammer to smash a glass display to steal three Chanel handbags that were said to be worth $10,000 each. They then fled in a vehicle, according to the NYPD. In June of this year, the Chanel boutique on Avenue Montaigne was targeted by a smash-and-grab robbery that involved four suspects ramming their vehicle into the store in order to break the windows and steal merchandise.
