Robbery

Los Angeles police searched Tuesday for three armed men who killed a 24-year-old as he attempted to help his grandfather, who was being mugged by the men outside a Sun Valley home. Danilo Estuardo Morales was shot in the head and killed after coming to the aid of his 60-year-old grandfather who had just been mugged by three men outside a home on the 8100 block of Coldwater Canyon Boulevard, authorities said. The grandfather had just arrived at the home when he encountered the three men, who took his wallet and jewelry, police said.

BURBANK — Police arrested two men and a woman Thursday, all from North Hollywood, who they believe are responsible for Tuesday's armed robbery at Community Bank in Media District North, officials said. Investigators linked forensic evidence to Carlos Robles, 52; Sergi Shevchanko, 31; and Aleksandra Krisenko, 37, who is alleged to have driven a getaway car. Officers arrested the three in the parking lot of a Target Department Store in Van Nuys, Officer Kevin Grandalski said.

Jenna Bordelon RANCHO DISTRICT -- A man who was a friend of the victims of an alleged armed robbery was stabbed in the head by an unknown assailant, officials said. The 30-year-old Burbank man, whose name was not released, was stabbed Sunday afternoon in the left side of his head with a small-blade knife during an argument with another man, Sgt. Jay Jette said. He said the man received a broken nose and a black eye, as well. The man did not report the incident until Tuesday, Jette said.

Jackson Bell The Los Angeles Police Department is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a man suspected of fatally shooting a Burbank man during a robbery at a North Hollywood conven- ience store, authorities announced Tuesday. Naif Sahoum, 41, was killed June 29 as he opened the Lankershim Mini Market, 7614 Lankershim Blvd. The unidentified suspect forced his way into the store, shot Sahoum in the chest, stole nearly $100 from the register and ran away, Los Angeles Det. Mike Coffey said.

A middle-aged black man who robbed a Burbank Citibank Saturday appears to match the description of a suspect wanted in connection with a nearby bank robbery this summer, authorities said. The suspect, who witnesses described as being between 45 and 50 years old, 5 feet 8 inches tall and 150 pounds, walked into the Citibank at 360 E. Magnolia Blvd., handed the teller a note demanding cash and said he had a gun, Burbank Police Sgt. Robert Quesada said. The suspect then made off with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Lolita Harper NORTHWEST DISTRICT -- Burbank Police are investigating a report of an attempted armed robbery Friday after a man claimed he was held at gunpoint on his way home from a convenience store. A Burbank man, whose name was not released, told police he was walking home from the 7-Eleven at 2500 Burbank Blvd. when two men stopped him to ask the time, Taylor said. While the man was looking at his watch, one man pulled out a handgun and demanded his wallet, police said.

Ryan Carter BURBANK -- Police nabbed an armed robbery suspect minutes after he wielded a knife at a security guard at the Burbank Virgin Megastore, police said. Richard Thomas Nuttall, 39, of Burbank, was arrested on suspicion of robbery shortly after 3 p.m., Burbank Police Sgt. Bill Taylor said. Officers arrested Nuttall near Burbank Boulevard and Lima Street after hearing a description of the knife-wielding robber, which matched Nuttall, over their scanners, police said.

Jenna Bordelon BURBANK -- Two men were sentenced to a total of 586 years in prison for a series of takeover robberies, including one at Enterprise Recording Studios in Burbank. Robert Smith and Derek Matthews, both 30 and from Los Angeles, were sentenced in Van Nuys Superior Court in October on more than 30 counts of robbery and false imprisonment, Deputy Dist. Atty. Anna K. Phillips said. Smith was sentenced to 525 years to life, but only has to fulfill 85% of his sentence -- 446 years, Phillips said.

Police are asking for the victims in a residential burglary and street robbery to come forward now that two juveniles were arrested on suspicion of stolen property. On April 25, police arrested two juveniles for an alleged residential burglary that took place April 23 near Grismer Avenue that was not reported to police, Officer Joshua Kendrick said. Police recovered a gaming system, jewelry and cellular phones. Police also determined a street robbery occurred on Kenneth Road when a cellular phone was stolen on April 25, Kendrick said.

Defending the city against claims that former Burbank Deputy Chief of Police William Taylor was terminated after facing on-the-job retaliation from the department, attorneys this week called into question the reason for his lawsuit. Taylor alleges he was demoted, and then fired, for pushing for proper discipline in a sexual harassment incident and because he blocked the firing of minority police officers. But defense attorneys said in Los Angeles County Superior court that it wasn't until Taylor received notice to appear for an interview by an outside investigator concerning the robbery at a local bakery that he filed his lawsuit against the city.

The attorney for a former Burbank deputy police chief who claims he was fired because he complained about internal issues questioned the validity Thursday of an outside investigator's report that played a role in his client's termination. The former deputy, William Taylor, alleges that he was demoted and then fired in retaliation for expressing concerns about racial discrimination and sexual harassment. His lawsuit, which was being heard this week, is the first of several filed after the Porto's Bakery and Cafe robbery in 2007 to go before a jury.

Los Angeles police searched Tuesday for three armed men who killed a 24-year-old as he attempted to help his grandfather, who was being mugged by the men outside a Sun Valley home. Danilo Estuardo Morales was shot in the head and killed after coming to the aid of his 60-year-old grandfather who had just been mugged by three men outside a home on the 8100 block of Coldwater Canyon Boulevard, authorities said. The grandfather had just arrived at the home when he encountered the three men, who took his wallet and jewelry, police said.

Man arrested for attempted burglary Francis Lockhard, 35, of Burbank, was arrested Oct. 22 on suspicion of attempted burglary and being under the influence of a controlled substance after allegedly trying to open several locked doors at an office complex on the 4000 block of Alameda Avenue. Man struck in head with chair On Oct. 20, a man described as being in his late 30s, white, about 5 feet, 8 inches tall with short blond/brown hair told a man inside a restaurant on the 300 block of First Street that he was being too loud, then proceeded to throw a chair, striking him in the head.

An armed man attempted to rob the El Torito restaurant on Olive Avenue Monday morning, prompting the manager to call police while locked inside a back office. At about 1 a.m. Monday, police say a Latino man confronted the manager and demanded money. After calling police from behind a locked office door, the man fled empty-handed, said Burbank Police Sgt. M. Ferguson. No one was injured. The man was described as 25 to 30 years old, about 5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a black and white striped shirt, black mustache, black pants and short brown hair.

Burbank Police officials Tuesday identified the retired Burbank police officer who shot and killed an armed robber Friday at a McDonald’s restaurant in Sunland as Dennis Fischer, of Sunland. Los Angeles police have not yet released the name of the alleged robber, citing the ongoing investigation, Officer Gregory Baek said. Fischer, 63, reportedly walked into the McDonald’s at approximately 10:47 a.m. Friday and found a man attempting to rob restaurant employees at gunpoint, said Los Angeles Police Officer Christopher No. Fischer then fatally shot the robber, No said.

Burbank police were forced to use a Taser gun to subdue a naked 43-year-old woman Thursday afternoon after she attacked the officers outside her apartment on the 900 block of West Angeleno Avenue. Neighbors called Burbank police at 2:32 p.m. to report that the woman, who officials did not identify, was throwing items at car windows, according to the police report. When officers arrived and confronted the woman, she told them a man inside her home was causing her to act erratically, said police Sgt. Robert Quesada.