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Three men face murder and robbery charges and a fourth faces a robbery charge in connection with a spate of follow-home robberies that have plagued the city in recent weeks, police said Friday.<\/p>\n
A Los Angeles Police Department task force on follow-home robberies, with assistance from an LAPD SWAT unit and Beverly Hills, Glendale and Fontana police, made the arrests on Dec. 21 in various locations in Los Angeles and Fontana.<\/p>\n
The suspects were Jayon Sanders, 21, Abraham Castillo, 20, Tyree Singleton, 20, and Joshua Saulsberry, 21.<\/p>\n
Sanders, Castilllo and Singleton have all been charged with murder, robbery and attempted robbery. Saulsberry is charged with robbery.<\/p>\n
Sanders is being held on $2.49 million bail, Castillo and Singleton on $2.05 million bail, and Saulsberry on $160,000 bail, according to the LAPD.<\/p>\n
Detectives recovered a handgun, a replica handgun, more than $30,000 in cash, handbags, a Rolex watch, gang paraphernalia and two vehicles allegedly used in the crimes, police said.<\/p>\n
The murder involved a man who was shot at restaurant in the 7100 block of Sunset Boulevard on Nov. 23, LAPD Officer Norma Eisenman said.<\/p>\n
The victim was Jose Ruiz Gutierrez, 23. He was waiting in a car outside Bossa Nova restaurant in the 7100 block Sunset Boulevard at around 2 a.m. that day when a woman he was with stepped out and was accosted by a group of men who tried to rob her, police told the Los Angeles Times.<\/p>\n
Gutierrez, who was carrying a gun, got out of the car to intervene and the suspects allegedly shot him to death and fled, according to the report.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA special task force has been assigned to track down those responsible. Eric Leonard reports for the NBC4 News on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Hours after the crime, LAPD Chief Michel Moore announced that the agency would create a task force to investigate “follow-home robberies,” which have increased in frequency in recent weeks.<\/p>\n
Moore said the department had identified 133 likely instances of such crimes. The heists involve robbers who follow people wearing high-end jewelry or have expensive vehicles or other belongings.<\/p>\n
Moore said Gutierrez was “coming to the aid of a female who was being attacked” when he was killed.<\/p>\n
The Robbery Homicide Follow-Home Robbery Task Force includes robbery homicide detectives and resources from the LAPD’s Gang Narcotics Division and Metropolitan Division.<\/p>\n
“They’ll work moving forward on identifying these individuals responsible and pursuing and bringing them before the criminal justice system,” Moore said.<\/p>\n
“The impact this is having on the sense of community, of safety, is profound,” he added.<\/p>\n
Moore added that people should not try to protect their property when confronted with robbers.<\/p>\n
“There’s no item of jewelry or piece of property that they have that is worth their life, and so if they find themselves in such a perilous situation, to cooperate, be a good witness. \u2026 Do not chase people, do not try to pursue people and do not try to take actions yourself other than to minimize the chance that you become a victim of the type of violence we saw this morning,” he said.<\/p>\n
He added that if someone notices they’re being followed, they should not drive home and instead go to a police station and call 911.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n