UPDATE: WEHOville learned this afternoon from a reader that another man was accosted by a group of men on Santa Monica Boulevard near Stanley near 1 a.m. on Dec. 6. The three men were African-American, however the watch commander at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station said she couldn’t tell whether that incident and the one described below were related.
A man was knocked to the ground early this morning and his cell phone was stolen by two men, one armed with gun.
Sgt. Dave Valentine of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station confirmed the robbery and said that the victim, who has not been identified, was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Valentine said the victim identified his assailants as African-American men.
The robbery occurred at 1250 N. Kings Rd., just south of Fountain Avenue. It was the latest in a series of robberies or attempted robberies in residential areas in recent weeks. On Nov. 24 a group of three men, one carrying a handgun, approached a man walking his dog in the 7600 block of Hampton Ave. but did not steal anything. On Nov. 22 five men approached a man walking down the sidewalk on De Longpre Avenue near Flores and accosted him and stole his mobile phone. On Nov. 15 a man walking on Romaine Street near Gardner encountered six men, one of whom stole his cell phone.
A 2014 report by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shows that West Hollywood has the highest rate of “Part 1” crimes of any of the 23 areas it serves. Part 1 crimes include crimes against people and property such as arson (no reported incidents in West Hollywood in 2014), homicide (one incident), rape (seven incidents), car theft (87 incidents), robbery (theft that involves force; 96 incidents), burglary (breaking or entering; 220 incidents) and larceny (theft that doesn’t involve force, such as stealing a bicycle or shoplifting: 1,191 incidents). A report on October Part 1 crimes from the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station showed the serious crime rate was flat compared to the same month the year before. However the number of petty thefts, defined as theft of property worth $950 or less, was up 47%.
What do we have to do to get security cameras installed in this city? 1250 N. Kings Rd. is on a well-lit, highly trafficked part of Kings just below Fountain. There are always people walking or walking their dogs, not to mention cars speeding up and down, so this crew is brazen. Clearly they are well-aware of the lack of police presence and view West Hollywood as (pardon the pun) shooting fish in a barrel.
If we only had a dedicated police force, not the scraps from the Sheriff’s department.
i can’t believe that the sheriff’s department isn’t doing their best. for all the calls of ‘where were they’ etc, come on folks, no city can have a cop on every corner. back in 1994, i was nearly a victim of an assault by two men on harper. i dealt with that situation and came out on top. never occurred to me they could have had a gun. but it did remind me of the expression, ‘nothing good happens after midnight’ … at least when you’re on a dark street. be mindful, be aware of your surroundings, and report suspicious… Read more »
WeHoMikey
You may or may not know who I am but rest assured if someone is trying to mug you in my presence they will not get away one way or another.
1250 Kings is at Fountain. Jerome Cleary, no foot patrols at Fountain.
Voice of Reason/fine7760, are you walking around WeHo armed? Not sure who you are, but would like to know who’s got weapons when i’m out and about.
BTW, never seen any of you (except Hank Scott…) at the Public Safety Commission meetings. If you’re really that concerned, show up and participate in making things better.
Just once for variety I’d like to read that an attack was committed by two blond Swedish tourists.
I was a witness and the guy was hurt! The Sheriff listing this as a robbery and not assault is to whitewash the record. One must arm themselves just to walk in Weho. This city is dangerous! Time for the Council to stop squandering money on extravaganzas and parades to hire more sheriffs to protect its citizenry.
Do we have competent policing anymore?
I no longer have a dog to walk in that area but rest assured if I still did I would be armed. Between thugs and terrorists the streets are not safe. The LASD can’t be everywhere so we must protect ourselves.
Wake up West Hollywood and America, danger is upon us and WE must act.
I wish they would put the time of day on these attacks, not that it matters, but seems like they tend to happen in the wee hours of the morning.
Do we know the timing?
thnx, dr.g.
Sorry! About 1 am
FYI 1250 is north of SM blvd. Sad to see this continue.