TWO TEENS SUSPECTED IN HOLDUPS ROBBERIES IN CANYON COUNTRY TARGET CHILDREN AS YOUNG AS 8.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

CANYON COUNTRY -- A pair of teens suspected of holding up two groups of youths at gunpoint in back-to-back Canyon Country street robberies have been arrested, sheriff's deputies said Thursday.

The victims, ranging in age from 8 to 16, were approached by a gun-wielding teen Tuesday night as they walked in their neighborhood near Camp Plenty Road.

``It (is) unusual to have other minors doing an armed robbery on younger children,'' Detective Sam Soehnel said. ``Sometimes with kids, they take things from one another, like a strong-arm robbery, but not an armed robbery where they display a handgun.''

Patrol deputies alerted to the crimes by a police radio broadcast arrested the male suspects, 17 and 16, after spotting their sport utility vehicle and finding the victims' stolen money -- $31 -- and property -- which included an iPod -- inside, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department report.

The robberies occurred 15 minutes apart, between 5:30 and 5:45 p.m. A black semiautomatic reproduction .45-caliber pellet gun was found in the vehicle, which deputies impounded. No one was hurt.

One group of victims was boys ages 16, 14 and 13; the other group was three younger boys, two of them 11 and one 8. Soehnel said neither the suspects nor the victims had any known gang affiliations, and the victims were simply walking in the neighborhood where they live.

The suspects were not identified because they are minors, but deputies said the 16-year-old, who lives in Canyon Country, attends Golden Valley High School. Deputies said they think the 17-year-old, of Newhall, does not attend school. William S. Hart Union High School District students are on winter break through today, while area elementary schools resumed classes Monday.

The crime is the first of its kind in the vicinity, Soehnel said. However, a string of iPod robberies around town in the fall mirrored a nationwide trend of stolen iPods and mobile phones -- small, portable valuables.

The robbers sped away from both incidents in a dark-green Ford Explorer, and suspects were arrested not long after, Soehnel said. Investigators think the vehicle, registered to an out-of-state owner, belongs to one suspect's brother-in-law.

The suspects are being held at Sylmar Juvenile Hall on suspicion of armed robbery. No bail had been set.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Soehnel at [phone].

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