Sketch of 'Giant' Robber Released

Los Angles police detectives have released a composite sketch of the man described as a "giant" by the elderly shop owner he tied up and robbed at gunpoint in Sherman Oaks on July 5.

The robber was described as an African American man, about age 35, 6 feet 8 inches tall and weighing about 300 pounds. Police say the man had a muscular build and was clean-shaven.

The man was armed with a black .38 revolver during the robbery at , 4343 Van Nuys Blvd., detectives said.

The store's 90-year-old owner, Burton Doling, told Sherman Oaks Patch that the man walked in, pulled out a gun, and said to him, "I see you don't have an internal camera. If you had one I would have to kill you."

"He was a giant of a man. I was no threat to him but he still insisted on tying me up with duct tape," said Doling, who has been in business at the same location for 60 years, selling coins and stamps.

Doling rolled up his shirt sleeve and pointed to a black-and-blue welt on his left arm.

"The tape was so tight you can still see the mark," he said.

Doling didn't say how much was taken in the robbery.

"He knew just which coins he wanted. He pointed to a book full of gold coins that I had under the glass and said he wanted those. But he didn't take other ones that were here," Doling said. The shop owner  pointed to a glass case full of coins that were not taken. The robber also took cash, he said.

"I have a feeling that someone else had cased the shop sometime before the robbery and told him which ones to take," Doling said. "The ones he took were extremely valuable, but they weighed a lot so there was a limit to how much he could take with him."

The armed robbery of this much admired coin shop owner has been the talk of the town in Sherman Oaks ever since it happened.

The owner of the travel agency two doors down, who asked that her name not be used, remarked, "He's such a sweet guy, why would someone do that to him?"

"I've received calls from people on the East Coast who heard about it," Doling said. "Many people have knocked on my door and asked how I'm feeling."

Earlier this year in a story about his life, Doling talked about his experiences during World War II, in which he was involved in the Normandy invasion.

"I was part of the 97th Division during the invasion of Omaha Beach," Doling told Sherman Oaks Patch in March. "I had to take over after my second lieutenant was wounded. I was the old man of the outfit at the age of 22."

Los Angeles police Detective Glenn O'Shea said he hopes that release of the composite sketch will help generate a lead. Anyone with information is asked to call O'Shea or Detective Flores at 818-374-0079.