Two suspects in usc robbery case are in custody


Two suspects have been arrested and taken into custody in connection with a robbery that took place in the early hours of Friday morning on the 1200 block of West Adams Boulevard, according to a statement released Saturday by the Department of Public Safety.

The Los Angeles Police Department and DPS identified the suspects by reviewing private and DPS security footage. At approximately 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, the first suspect and weapon were taken into custody at a traffic stop in the area. A subsequent investigation after the first arrest resulted in the arrest of the second suspect.

The victim, a female USC student, positively identified both suspects, who were in their early 20s and wearing all black at the time of the crime. The first suspect was described as a 5’10”, thin black male with braces. The second suspect was a 5’4”, black female of average weight with her hair in a bun.

The victim said that she arrived home alone just after 2 a.m. when a man and a woman approached her as she was walking up to the front gate of her house. According to the victim, a USC Uber had dropped her off just a few houses down on Magnolia Avenue and Adams Boulevard.

The pair, who were crouching behind a car near the house as the student arrived, allegedly drew a gun and demanded any cash on her person. Police said the investigation revealed that the weapon used to threaten the student was actually an airsoft gun.

“It looked like they were just waiting for someone to come down the street,” said the victim, who asked to remain anonymous because the robbery was at her personal residence.

She said that when she told them she didn’t have any cash, the two suspects made her walk with them to three different ATM machines at gas stations along Vermont Avenue. They went up to Washington Boulevard and Vermont Avenue, just under a mile from the initial robbery point. The couple eventually escaped with $400 in cash from the student’s account.

DPS said the robbery is not believed to be related to a string of robberies that occurred last weekend on both the 3000th block of Figueroa Street and 28th Street. In those incidents, a group of four men physically assaulted and robbed two students, attempted to rob a third and physically assaulted a fourth.