Detectives on Tuesday sought the public’s help in identifying a suspect who forcefully stole a new bicycle from an 11-year-old boy in a park in the unincorporated Florence-Firestone area.
The robbery occurred about 12:20 p.m. on Oct. 31 at Ted Watkins Park at 1335 E. 103rd Street, near Central Avenue, according to Deputy Johnie Jones of the Sheriff’s Park Bureau.
The victim had just won the beach cruiser during a Halloween party when the suspect, described as an Latino man in his early- to mid-30s, approached the boy and forcefully pulled the bike from the child’s grasp, Jones said.
“The suspect then placed a small female child onto the handlebars and rode the bicycle away,” Jones said. “Although the young boy and his mother chased after the suspect, they were unable to catch him.”
The suspect is 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighs about 200 pounds and has a St. Louis Cardinals-type “StL” tattoo on his left arm and neck.
The bike is a black-framed Micargi with green rims and a black seat.
Anyone with information about the theft was urged to call sheriff’s Detective Daniel Cerda at (213) 216-7675. Anonymous tips can be supplied by calling Crime Stoppers at (800) 222-TIPS.
— City News Service