Teens Robbed in Los Alamitos
Police are asking for the public's help to find the suspects
Antonio Castelan, Lori Bentley
Three Los Alamitos High School students were robbed and another student was sexually assaulted, all as they were walking home from school. NBC4's Antonio Castelan reports
Police are asking for the public’s help in finding two suspects who are targeting teenagers in Los Alamitos.
Three Los Alamitos High School students were robbed and another student was sexually assaulted Thursday afternoon, all as they were walking home from school.
Police say two robbers stole cellphones, wallets and iPods from two 15-year-old boys and two 15-year-old girls. Officials say one of the girls was shoved against a car and her breasts were fondled. The four crimes occurred at two locations between 2:45 and 3:05 p.m.
“I think this is horrible. In this area, that’s kind of scary,” said parent Tiffany Moran. “My son walks home from school.”
Investigators said the suspects stole from a boy and a girl about a quarter-mile from the high school. Ten minutes later, the suspects did the same exact thing, but this time, one of the teenage boys was slapped in the face.
“There was no weapon that was seen or that was used,” said Sgt. Richard DeLeon with the Los Alamitos Police Department. “But there was an implication that one of them was faking like he maybe had a gun hidden underneath his shirt.”
Eric Shay, a sophomore at Los Alamitos High School, doesn’t feel safe now walking back home from school.
“I don’t want to get robbed,” he said.
Police are looking for two black men in their 20s. One suspect is approximately 5-foot-8 with a medium build, a tattoo on his neck, an earring, black short hair and a goatee. The second suspect is about 6-foot-1 with a thin build and short hair. He was last seen wearing a dark shirt, jeans and a sweatshirt.
“It seems like they were actually looking for students to target,” said Sgt. DeLeon.
Moran said she plans on talking to her son about these robberies.
“I’ll tell him to be careful and not to carry any money,” she said. “I will probably pick him up from school now.”
Police are also looking for a possible getaway car. Witnesses say they saw a dark older model Kia or Hyundai leave the scene.
Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to contact the Los Alamitos police at (562) 431-2255.
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