I have been covering the surge in bold daytime robberies in California, exacerbated by closing prisons and criminal-supporting sentencing policies.
The luck seems to have run out for one band of Christmas-time robbers who encountered Marine recruiters from a nearby military recruitment center at the Del Amo Fashion Center in Torrance, California.
The robbery happened Tuesday, at a jewelry store in the mall. According to Torrance police, four people wearing hoodies and covering their faces used hammers to smash the glass of the display cases and grab as much jewelry as they could.Two of the suspects were able to escape, but the other two were taken to the ground by Marine recruiters and bystanders who heard the robbery unfold, and were able to detain the two suspects, both minors, until police were able to get there.”[It was] the Marines. The Marine Corps… They stepped up, they tackled them down,” said Ralph, who captured the robbery on video. “Two got away, two got tackled down, and they stepped it up. That’s enough. Time to fight back.”The two minors were taken into custody. Police also said that they were able to recover a “large amount” of jewelry from the scene.
Unfortunately, Marines cannot be stationed everywhere in California. Police are now alerting people to be careful as a spike in violent “bank jugging” robberies is rising across Southern California.
“Bank jugging” involves thieves staking out potential victims in bank parking lots while following them to their next destination in order to rob them. They typically target those who have withdrawn large amounts of cash.Busy shopping centers are prime spots for suspects searching for their next target.“These are dangerous crimes,” Lt. Derek Green with the Burbank Police Department tells KTLA’s John Fenoglio. “The crime is usually when a group of people follow unsuspecting victims to a bank and wait for them to withdraw a large amount of cash. Once the victim leaves the bank, they follow them to their intended destination.”
Californians may not be safe without the aid of the US military, but at least we have sunshine and temperatures in the double digits.
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