South Bay : Stakeout Nets 3 Suspects in Robberies
A massive surveillance operation ended Tuesday in the arrests of two men and a woman believed to be responsible for 14 armed robberies of convenience stores around the South Bay.
Hawthorne residents Aron Douglas Castlin, 22, and Elisa Gayle Thrash, 29, and Edward Mario Lehmann, 22, were arrested Tuesday morning during a stakeout at the AM PM Mini Mart at 4000 Redondo Beach Blvd. in Torrance, said Torrance police Sgt. Ed LaLonde.
The store was one of several that 20 police officers and sheriff’s deputies had staked out in Torrance and Lawndale in an effort to capture a band of robbers known to use a tan car in their holdups.
During their stakeout, the store was robbed. Shortly afterward, a man was seen running from the store and into a tan Dodge Colt. The three suspects in the car were pulled over, and a search of the vehicle revealed a handgun and cash that had just been stolen from the convenience store, LaLonde said.
The robbery spree, which began Oct. 3, also affected Hawthorne, Lawndale, Lennox and Harbor City.
The suspects have each been charged with 14 counts of robbery; bail has been set at $50,000 each. . . .
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