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# A third strike for robbery suspect?
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/a-third-strike-for-robbery-suspect/
- Published: 2008-08-27T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T20:50:57.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import

*Cops say robbery suspect has extensive criminal background*

DOWNTOWN, L.A. A Los Angeles man with two strikes on his criminal record was charged on Tuesday in connection with three robberies in Santa Monica and the Westside this summer.

Jeffrey Wayne Langford, 53, is believed responsible for a string of home invasion robberies that victimized elderly residents who lived by themselves, usually committing the crimes in the middle of the night while wearing a ski mask and gloves.

He was charged with 10 felony counts of residential burglary and robbery, receiving stolen property and false imprisonment by violence and assault. The so-called “Silverware Bandit,” dubbed this because he allegedly asked victims for their china and silverware, was also charged with one misdemeanor count of cutting a phone line, stemming from a robbery in Sunset Park on Aug. 8\. The case was filed as a “third strike” offense, meaning that if Langford is convicted, he could face life in prison.

Authorities believe that Langford, who has an extensive criminal background, has committed 15 robberies on the Westside since May 27\. The charges cover three of those break-ins, one of which took place on the 1200 block of Ashland Avenue. The Santa Monica Police Department has collaborated with the Los Angeles Police Department on the investigation since the most recent incident in early August.

LAPD detectives arrested Langford Friday at 3:30 a.m. after observing him apparently studying several locations within the target West L.A. area. A suspicious individual was also reportedly sighted in the Sunset Park neighborhood earlier that evening. Detectives recovered pieces of evidence at the arrest scene that linked Langford to the previous crimes.

The robberies have left many residents, especially senior citizens, in fear as the masked burglar continued to hit home after home on the relatively crime-neutral Westside.

All of the victims were between the ages of 70 and 97, the majority of whom lived alone. The suspect in many cases entered the home by prying the windows open with a screwdriver, waking his victims and taking cash and jewelry.

More charges could be brought forward as the investigation is ongoing, according to Jane Robison, spokeswoman with the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

One of the robberies took place in late July on the 2300 block of 22nd Street where an 86-year-old woman living alone was awoken by a masked robber. The burglar took off with the victim’s jewelry and money.

Another elderly woman was robbed in mid-August on Ashland. The victim was reportedly ordered to sit in a chair and was tied up with an electrical cord.

Langford is being held on $1.2 million bail.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 27, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/082708.pdf?ref=smdp.com)