MAN LINKED TO 2 DOZEN SALON ROBBERIES.

Byline: Brooke Olson Daily News Staff Writer

A gunman who is suspected in a Van Nuys beauty salon robbery and sexual assault over the weekend has been linked to an additional 23 beauty salon robberies since July, police said Monday.

Most of the robberies occurred during midday and late evenings, and most involved San Fernando Valley beauty salons, said Lt. Jim Grayson of the Los Angeles Police Department's Robbery-Homicide Division.

The robber targets shops operated by women, Grayson said. ``The suspect has been known to attack - either sexually or with a gun - his victims,'' Grayson said.

In one robbery, a salon employee was shot and wounded, Grayson said.

The man frequently poses as a customer, often returning to the salon several times before brandishing a handgun and demanding money from the cash drawer, Grayson said.

``People who own beauty salons should be aware of any suspicious new person who shows up at the store on several occasions in one day,'' Grayson said.

The robber is described by witnesses as a Latino between 28 and 37, 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 8 inches tall, 130 to 170 pounds with brown hair and hazel eyes, police said.

On Saturday, the man robbed and sexually assaulted the owner of a beauty salon about 6:40 p.m. on Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys, Grayson said.

Witnesses said the robber was at the salon two days prior to the robbery and visited the store twice on the day of the robbery, buying bottles of shampoo, police said.

Police warned salon owners who work alone to lock their doors and let only known customers into the shop. In addition, police are advising customers not to carry many valuables into the salon.

``The suspect does take jewelry and money from the customers as well,'' Grayson said.

Anyone with information on the robber should call [phone] during normal business hours and [phone] during nonbusiness hours.