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Police sought at least three men suspected of three separate armed robberies that occurred Thursday in Pasadena, according to published reports.
At 10:20 a.m. two thieves, one of whom was armed with a handgun, robbed a 54-year-old man depositing cash at an ATM in the 3500 block of East Foothill Boulevard before fleeing in a getaway car driven by a third suspect. At 4:30 p.m. a 73-year-old woman was robbed outside a Trader Joe’s in the 400 block of North Rosemead Boulevard, and a gas station cashier was robbed at gunpoint at 9:30 p.m.
The ATM robbery victim was not physically harmed, and his total loss was approximately $175, his wallet and car keys, police told Pasadena Now. Police described the three suspects as Black men wearing dark clothing and ski masks. The getaway vehicle may have been a light-colored, late-model sedan, but police were still working to confirm the vehicle description.
In the second armed robbery, an elderly local woman was confronted in a parking lot after exiting her vehicle. Pasadena Police Department Lt. Tim Bundy told Pasadena Now that the suspect demanded her purse and brandished a firearm after she hesitated.
“The victim tried to hold onto her purse, but the suspect forcibly pulled it from her hands,” Bundy said.
The thief then fled in a vehicle driven by an accomplice southbound on Rosemead Boulevard. The victim was not injured, but the suspects stole her purse that contained about $280.
According to KTLA, the woman was standing next to her vehicle when two men — one armed with a handgun — demanded her purse. She resisted and the suspects forcibly took her handbag, then got into a getaway car driven by a third suspect and fled the scene.
The third crime took place at an unspecified gas station where a cashier was working behind the counter around 9:30 p.m. as male suspect wearing a mask entered the store, KTLA reported.
“He suddenly asked me to hand over all the money from the register,” said the cashier, who declined to be identified. “I didn’t scream out, but I just questioned him saying, ‘Why would I give you the money?’”
At that point the suspect became quiet, produced a gun and started to threaten the cashier.
“He said, ‘I’m going to start counting right now and if you don’t hand over the money, I’m going to straight shoot you,’” the victim said.
Police believe the three suspects were involved in both robberies targeting victims at the bank and at Trader Joe’s, KTLA reported. For the gas station hold-up, that incident involved a lone gunman and it was unclear if that incident was connected to the other two robberies.
KTLA reported the suspect vehicle may be an older-model Honda SUV.
“I’m very surprised,” Mary Ann Hierman, the Trader Joe’s victim, told the TV station. “I thought we were safe out here. It’s getting bad.”
Authorities asked anyone with information about these armed robberies to contact the Pasadena police at 626-744-4241 or file an anonymous report via Crime Stoppers at 800-222-8477.
