DAYLIGHT STREET HOLDUP SPREE TRIO ROB, BEAT VALLEY VICTIMS IN RAPID SUCCESSION.

Byline: RACHEL URANGA

Staff Writer

Two armed men and a woman cruising East Valley streets in a white pickup over the weekend stopped every 10 minutes or so to rob and beat random victims, making off with $2,000 before police caught up with them.

Their final assault ended Saturday in a road-rage street fight that caused the oddly assembled trio -- a construction company owner, a housekeeper in a leopard-print dress and a day laborer -- to lose their gun and speed away.

Police arrested them 15 minutes later, bringing their violent, two-hour robbery spree to an end.

"I am still trying to figure out why they did this," said Detective Carlos Figueira of the Los Angeles Police Department's North Hollywood Division. "They weren't very good at it."

In all, at least nine people -- all men -- were robbed. A 70-year-old man was punched in the chest and other victims were thrown against walls. The trio took wallets, cash, cell phones and keys.

"They got about $2,000 but they are not going to keep it," Figueira said. "We have recovered it all and I have been returning it to the victims."

All but one of the known robberies took place Saturday between 1:10 p.m. and 3 p.m. The trio allegedly robbed a man Friday night outside a Wal-Mart at Sherman Way and Ethel Street.

Authorities believe that between Friday night and Saturday afternoon the trio committed more robberies. But they are still trying to connect them to those stickups.

Police said they would not release the names of the three suspects until today. All were described as Latinos in their 30s.

Authorities provided the following account of the crime spree: On their first job Saturday, the robbers attempted a carjacking at a Target store at Victory Boulevard and Vineland Avenue, but abandoned the effort when a 28-year-old man -- whom they stopped as he left the store -- told them his fiancee and baby were in the car.

Police found tall Miller Genuine Draft beer cans in their truck, but it was not clear whether they were drinking during the robberies.

While their male victims appeared random, the robbers seemed to target men walking alone in and out of supermarkets, stores, restaurants or apartments.

The woman stayed in the car on the passenger's side while the two men surrounded the victim, police said. One of them used the gun as both demanded money.

Never more than a mile from each other, the assaults came in rapid succession, some just five minutes apart. Victims were old and young, white and Latino.

Twenty minutes after the failed carjacking attempt at the Target on Saturday, the trio pulled into a Superior Market in North Hollywood. A 70- year-old man was on the way to the store to get a money order. He had $1,300 in his wallet.

The two men cornered the man, one pointing a gun at him and demanding money as the other punched the man in his chest.

Twenty minutes later they pulled into a 99 Cents store in Van Nuys and came across a 61-year-old man who was putting bags away in his car.

One of the robbers threw the bag to the ground and then pushed the man in his face. The other robber demanded money before the man handed over his debit card and driver's license.

Next, two men, 32 and 24, were assaulted as they walked into a Van Nuys apartment with groceries. The robbers told them, "give me everything you have got."

The 32-year-old handed over his wallet, but his friend pushed the men away.

Less than five minutes later, the trio pulled into a Norm's restaurant at Woodman Avenue and Sherman Way. The trio stopped the truck in front of a 47-year-old man and stuck the gun out the window. They demanded money but the man said he had none. The robbers sped away, but returned a minute later asking again for money. The man handed over his keys and cell phone.

As the spree continued, reports began flooding the North Hollywood Division.

By 2:15 p.m., more than half a dozen people had been robbed, a small pile of wallets was growing in the pickup truck and the trio did not appear to be slowing down.

When they left Norm's, they stopped at a supermarket by Saticoy Street and Lankershim Boulevard. This time the robbers came screeching into the parking lot. The two men again jumped out, stuck a 47-year-old man with some kind of metal object and demanded money. He complied, handing them his wallet.

Then at 2:45 p.m., the trio apparently got into a confrontation with another motorist at Lankershim Boulevard and Sherman Way, where witnesses reported a road-rage scuffle. Police say the two male robbers fought with another man who took the robbers' gun and ran.

Within 15 minutes, an LAPD helicopter spotted the suspects near the scene of the fight. As officers in a patrol car tried to pull them over, the trio sped away. Another police car joined the chase and eventually the robbers pulled over near Roscoe and Laurel Canyon boulevards. All were arrested.

Investigators are asking anyone with more information about the trio to contact North Hollywood detectives at [phone].

rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com

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SOURCE: LAPD

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