Man Parked on Flores Street Was Robbed This Afternoon

The latest in what appears to be an ongoing series of robberies in West Hollywood occurred this afternoon on Flores Street south of Melrose Avenue.

Sgt. Dave Valentine of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station said a man was sitting in his car in a driveway on Flores around 2:45 p.m. when another man approached. The man pounded on his window and demanded that the victim surrender his watch, a bracelet and his cell phone. Then the robber, who was African-American, jumped in another car with a companion and left the scene.

Another similar robbery occurred at 1250 N. Kings Rd., just south of Santa Monica Blvd., on Sunday. 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. In several of those incidents the men involved were African-American, although it isn’t clear whether the same men were involved in each.

Lt. David Smith of the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station cautioned residents to be very aware of their surrounding when they were out walking at night. If you see a group of people sitting in a car or someone approaching you, it’s best to walk away immediately, Smith said.