By
Minyvonne
Burke
_
More than a dozen gangs in Los Angeles, California, are targeting people to steal expensive items like watches and jewelry, police said.
The assaults are part of an ongoing trend that the Los Angeles Police Department described as "burglaries."
In this new criminal modality, criminals first identify her victim, then follow her
and finally assault her when she enters an isolated area, such as her home.
A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said Wednesday that at least 17 independently operating gangs are believed to be linked to the robberies.
[Manhattan police arrest suspect in subway shooting: "We got him, we got him!"]
In a suspected attack Monday, a woman leaving a jewelry store in downtown Los Angeles was followed by two suspects traveling in a silver Dodge Challenger, police said in a news release.
As he approached an intersection, one of the suspects got out of the Challenger, approached his car and broke the driver's side window with some type of tool.
[Manhattan police arrest suspect in subway shooting: "We got him, we got him!"]
Gang members in Los Angeles, California, during an attempted robbery. Via NBC News
“The victim attempted to drive away but was unable to due to slow traffic.
When her vehicle stopped, the victim got out and ran west on 8th Street for help,” police said.
The suspects, one of whom was allegedly carrying a firearm, hit her with the car and got out.
The victim "immediately took off his watch and threw it into the street," police said.
The suspects grabbed the watch and fled.
The woman suffered minor injuries and was treated by paramedics on the spot.
As of Wednesday afternoon, no one had been arrested.
[“I ran and saw a boy wounded in the knee,” says a Latina about the attack]
Last year, an attack occurred in which a man was followed by a white Maserati after he left a design school.
When he stopped at his store, the Maserati approached him and three subjects got out.
“The victim attempted to run away from the suspects but was chased and pushed to the ground.
While she was on the ground, a suspect held a gun to her head and demanded that she remove her watch.
Two other suspects stripped him of his belongings and a fourth suspect took valuables from the car," police said in a news release on Friday.
The man said
items worth an estimated $604,000 were stolen from him
, including two watches, a laptop and an iPad.
They arrest three subjects accused of prostitution and robbery in a Los Angeles store
April 11, 202200:24
Cheyenne Hale, 25, of Los Angeles, was arrested April 6 in connection with that robbery.
He is being held on $90,000 bond, jail records show.
He did not have a registered defense attorney.
Several more robberies have been linked to suspects Matthew Adams, Jayon Sparks and Eric Wilson, according to police.
The crimes occurred between January and March, according to a press release.
Sparks and Wilson were arrested on March 24 and Adams was arrested on March 31.
Sparks was charged with two counts of robbery and one count of possession of a firearm, while Adams was charged with seven counts of robbery and two counts of unlawful possession of weapons.
Both remain in jail on bail.
[“It was a dramatic experience,” says witness to Brooklyn subway shooting]
Wilson was charged with one count of possession of a firearm and was released on bond.
The police did not detail how he was involved in these crimes.
Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday that two murders have been associated with "burglaries" and asked the public to be aware of their surroundings.