Witnesses considered snagging robbery suspect
POLICE HEADQUARTERS — Two suspected bank robbers who were shot by police on Wednesday have been identified.
Pedro Rivera, 27, of Temple City, and Dexter Glasgow, 35, of Los Angeles, are listed in stable condition at UCLA Medical Center. They were arrested on Wednesday after both being shot in the torso by Santa Monica police responding to emergency calls regarding a bank robbery which occurred at 10:28 a.m. at the First Federal Bank at 2827 Main St.
Both Rivera and Glasgow are being investigated for a series of armed bank robberies in Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, Pasadena and Los Angeles, according to police.
Santa Monica police units received information en route to the scene that indicated one suspect, armed with a handgun, exited the bank and was being driven away by a second suspect in a black sport utility vehicle.
Lt. Alex Padilla said several police units intercepted the fleeing SUV on Lincoln Boulevard and proceeded to chase it south through Venice into Marina del Rey. The SUV entered a parking garage at the Villa Marina Marketplace on the 13400 block of Maxella Avenue and stopped near a stairwell. Arriving squad cars stopped behind it.
According to Lt. Padilla, responding officers noticed one of the men reaching for his waistband as they exited the SUV, at which point the officers began to shoot at the suspects.
“They feared the suspect was in the process of arming himself with the intent to injure or kill them,” Lt. Padilla said of the officers, since the emergency calls indicated at least one suspect was carrying a gun. “Officers opened fire and both suspects were shot.
“One collapsed and the other continued to flee.”
According to Lt. Padilla, the two suspects were apprehended approximately 40 yards apart. There were shots fired by more than one officer.
The officers involved in the shooting, as per standard procedure, will be assigned to desk duty for a couple of days.
The case is still under investigation. Laura Eimiller, an FBI spokesperson, said there have been 12 bank robberies in Santa Monica this year. She deferred all other questions to the SMPD, the primary agency investigating the case.
A young man who prefers to go by “Sanchez” said he was across the street from the bank, working at a coffee shop, when the robbery occurred.
“A woman came into the shop and said the bank was being robbed,” Sanchez said.
Sanchez said he looked out the window and noticed one suspect exiting the bank, placing a black handgun in the waistband behind his back and carrying bags of money that spilled into the streets.
A few people on the street pointed at the suspect as he walked away from the scene.
Sanchez said he turned to a friend, who prefers to go by “Izquierdo,” and said, “Let’s go.”
He said they planned on detaining the robber. The two followed the suspects from Ashland to Second Street, where he made a right.
“There was no one around,” Sanchez said. “He had a clear getaway, and we were pissed, because, this has happened (so many times) in the past five or six months.”
Sanchez said he was four feet behind the suspect, but held back from tackling him, due to Izquierdo’s word of caution.
“He has a gun,” Izquierdo said, pulling him back. “So I shouted, ‘stick em, robber,” Sanchez said. “The robber screamed and ran all the way up the street.
“He hopped in the SUV, and they sped away.” The two colleagues are credited with assisting police and their subsequent investigation by identifying the getaway vehicle and license plate.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 1, 2005. Read the original PDF.