Four charged in crime spree

BURBANK — Police are asking people who were recently robbed by a group of four males to come forward in order to pursue additional charges against them.

At least one Burbank robbery went unreported this weekend after the males carjacked a motorist at gunpoint and engaged in a three-day crime spree that spanned from the city to Tujunga, Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.

“We know there are more victims,” he said.

The four were finally taken into custody Sunday night, following a pursuit in Glendale, Lorenz said.

The district attorney’s office Wednesday charged Nicolas Ventura Jr., 18, of Lakeview Terrace and Sergio Rodriguez, 20, of Sylmar with five counts of robbery, one count of carjacking, one count of attempted carjacking and one count of evading a police officer, which is a felony. The counts also carry a special gun allegation.

Ventura was being held on $675,000 bail, and Rodriguez on $625,000 bail.

A 15-year-old Sylmar boy and 15-year-old Lakeview Terrace boy also were charged with five counts of robbery, but weren’t charged with the carjacking charges. They will be tried separately as minors.

The foursome’s crime spree began Aug. 29 when they tried to steal an elderly woman’s vehicle at the Angeles National Golf Course, he said.

“She refused to comply, got in her car and drove away,” Lorenz said.

The group again reportedly tried to steal another woman’s car in Tujunga and got away with the car, he said.

In the stolen car, the group allegedly went on a rampage and robbed two people at gunpoint in Burbank, Lorenz said.

A Burbank man reported that his wallet and cellphone were stolen by the four males.

A white Toyota Corolla pulled up next to a Glendale couple who were entering their parked car at Irving Avenue and Bel Aire Drive after watching a movie Sunday, Lorenz said.

Three of the four teens approached the couple, while the fourth boy remained inside the Toyota, he said.

One of the three teens brandished a semiautomatic handgun at the 34-year-old man and 28-year-old woman, demanding his wallet and her purse.

“They threatened to kill them if they didn’t get their money,” Lorenz said.

The man handed the group his wife’s purse, and the group fled in the Toyota, he said.

Soon after, police officials radioed a broadcast with details about the robbery and suspect descriptions to its patrol cars.

A patrol officer saw a vehicle and its passengers matching the description from the robbery at Stocker Street and Central Avenue. The officer tried to stop the vehicle, but it fled.

Police ended the pursuit at Avonoak Terrace and Glenoaks Boulevard, during which the foursome exited the vehicle and fled on foot, Lorenz said.

But police detained one of the four.

A police dog later found the remaining three, and they were arrested, he said.

The couple identified the group as the thieves who robbed them earlier, Lorenz said.

Anyone with details about the robberies or the four males are asked to call their local law enforcement agencies.