Police Capture Two Armed Robbery Suspects in Sherman Oaks

Police officers with guns at the ready surrounded a house in the 4300 block of Sherman Oaks Avenue Monday afternoon.

According to the LAPD four men, at least two of them armed, were seen in the backyard of a residence and neighbors called police, telling them the men did not belong on the street.

The Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit was called out and the officers, armed with shotguns, began moving in closer to the house where the suspects were believed to be holed up. Officers also set up a perimeter around the block where Sherman Oaks Avenue meets Sepulveda Boulevard.

Police say the four suspects committed an armed robbery in the San Fernando Valley Monday afternoon. The robbery occurred at salon warehouse at 1:45 p.m. in the 7800 block of Burnet Avenue, two blocks north of Saticoy Street, according to Officer Karen Raynor of the LAPD Media Relations Division.

A witness followed the suspects, one of whom fired a shot at the witness before the group bailed out of a U-Haul van and fled into a neighborhood in Sherman Oaks, said Rayner.

"We captured one of them," said officer Paul Skinner, after talking on his radio. "[We're] sending in a dog to see what we can find out," he added.

Later, around 3:50 p.m., officers reported they had apprehended a second suspect. A large crowd of residents watched the action from behind police lines.

As night fell, officers gave up the search, and two of the suspects remains at large.

The Valley Vista Boulevard offramp from the San Diego (405) Freeway was blocked off for several hours during the incident.                        

EDITOR'S NOTE: There was some confusion about whether there was three or four suspects. When the search was finally called off, Rayner said the last word was there were four suspects, two in custody. It was also reported in an earlier version of this story that there were two robberies the suspects were believed responsible for, but police later changed it to one robbery.

The City News Service contributed to this story