A car theft suspect who was killed earlier this month in an officer-involved shooting in Reseda is also suspected of being the so-called “shaggy bandit” responsible for a series of holdups in San Fernando Valley, police said Thursday.
Parolee Daniel Carver, 29, fired at two officers, wounding one in a leg, before he was killed about 10:30 a.m. on April 9 in the 6500 block of Corbin Avenue, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
One officer was treated at a hospital for a leg wound, and the other for scrapes and bruises, LAPD Capt. Patricia Sandoval said after the shooting.
A weapon was recovered at the scene, Sandoval said.
The two Topanga Station officers were in a patrol car in the area when they began chasing Carver, who was driving an SUV, after they received a “LoJack hit” that indicated the vehicle had been reported stolen, Sandoval said.
They chased the SUV for about seven minutes, and Carver got out of the vehicle and ran off, followed by the officers on foot, Sandoval said.
The shooting occurred about two to five minutes into the foot chase, Sandoval said.
It was unclear if both officers fired, she said.
A day after he was killed, Carver, described in an LAPD news release as “a twice-convicted felon,” was linked by detectives to a series of armed robberies, police said.
His DMV photo matched descriptions of the Shaggy Bandit, so named because he was seen on surveillance video sporting a moustache and beard, according to the LAPD.
“A witness picked out his photo from among five other similar photos,” Capt. Paul Vernon, commanding officer of the LAPD’s Topanga Station, said.
Vernon said investigators are confident in their belief that Carver was “on the prowl” the morning he was killed.
“In fact, he was first noticed that morning by an observant officer in the parking lot of a Home Depot,” he said. “Piecing together Carver’s recent criminal activities, while free on parole, gives us a rare glimpse into how the tentacles of a single career criminal can touch the lives of so many people: from the clerks at the post office and Game Stop; to the owners of the stolen car and gun; to the victims of burglaries he was under investigation for in two other jurisdictions; and most prominently to the two young police officers he tried to kill, one who was shot during the armed confrontation.”
The coroner’s office had no place of residence listed for Carver.