Aug 26, 2008 10:25 am US/Central
Police Arrest Suspected 'Silverware Bandit' In LA
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
After an investigation lasting several weeks and involving several
police departments, authorities Tuesday held a man arrested as a
suspect in a string of home-invasion robberies targeting elderly women
on Los Angeles' Westside and in Santa Monica, Calif. The man's name was
expected to be released at a police news conference Tuesday morning,
along with details of his arrest, said Officer Sam Park of the Los
Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.
The man's name was expected to be released at a police news conference Tuesday morning, along with details of his arrest, said Officer Sam Park of the Los Angeles Police Department's Media Relations Section.
Investigators believe the suspect is the "Silverware Bandit," who targeted elderly women and is responsible for at least 15 home invasion robberies beginning with a May 27 robbery in West Los Angeles.
Twelve of the break-ins occurred in Los Angeles, two in Santa Monica and one in Culver City, Calif. according to the LAPD.
On July 29, a man allegedly forced a 96-year-old woman into her home near the 2500 block of Westwood Boulevard, then ransacked the place, fleeing with some valuables, police said.
On Aug. 12, a man believed to be the same suspect broke into the Santa Monica home of a woman in her 70s while she was asleep, rummaged through the residence and left with several items, said Santa Monica police Sgt. Renaldi Thruston.
Los Angeles police arrested the suspect around 3 a.m. Friday in Santa Monica, and police told the Los Angeles Times he'd been preparing to strike again.
"The arrest was the result of intensive investigation conducted jointly by the Los Angeles and Santa Monica police departments and other entities," LAPD Deputy Chief Charlie Beck told the Times.
Authorities from the Santa Monica and Los Angeles police departments began to collaborate in the case after a robbery occurred on Aug. 8 at a residence in the 1200 block of Ashland Avenue in Santa Monica, Thruston said.
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