SMPD busts serial robber
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Despite their exhaust-filled workplace, the city’s parking garage attendants can breathe a little easier now that a suspect has been charged for a string of armed robberies against them.
A Los Angeles man is being accused of targeting Santa Monica parking attendants in the downtown structures for the better of a year, authorities said Wednesday.
Juan Carlos Hernandez, 31, was charged with nine counts of armed robbery and one count of commercial burglary for incidents that date back to July 23, 2006.
Hernandez has plead not guilty and is due back in court on July 24, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
He is being held on $800,000 bail. A screwdriver, tire iron, knife and a handgun were used in the series of robberies. In one incident, the suspect took money from a parking booth when the attendant had stepped away. No employees were injured in the robberies. City officials said the average loss was between $200 and $300.
“This is a good find for us,” SMPD’s Lt. Alex Padilla said. “This guy was getting worse and worse, using handguns and knives, and we wanted to make sure we caught the guy before he did any type of physical violence.”
The parking structures are managed by Parking Concepts. Representatives from the company could not be reached for comment.
Earlier this year, SMPD spent $75,000 to install security cameras in all of the downtown structures, excluding the two that are attached to Santa Monica Place, which offer parking for free on most days. The cameras were installed to protect parking attendants and improve traffic flow.
The burglaries also sparked renewed interest in “pay-on-foot” programs that would allow drivers to use machines, similar to ATMs, to pay for their parking instead of having to hand money over to an attendant. Pay-on-foot is still an option on the table.
The cameras proved to be a good investment, police said. Using footage captured by them, officers were able to get a good look at the suspect, whom they noticed walking out of Parking Structure No. 6 on Second Street around 11 p.m. on Sunday.
Patrol officers immediately responded to the structure, at which time they contacted the parking attendant who confirmed that he had just been robbed. He told officers that the suspect used a knife and took $20.
A few minutes later, officers patrolling the area on foot saw the suspect in Parking Structure No. 2, also on Second Street. Officers said the suspect was walking away from another parking booth.
As the officers followed the suspect, he quickly ran down a nearby stairwell. At this time, the parking attendant yelled out to the officers that she had just been robbed. She said the suspect used a tire iron to take $122.
The robbery was captured on video.
Officers were able to apprehend the suspect on the ground floor of the structure. The suspect was positively identified by witnesses and the knife and tire iron were recovered along with the stolen money, police said.
“What happened was he had been doing these robberies, then he found a job and stopped for a while,” Padilla said. “We don’t know if it was because he lost his job, but from talking to him, he went back to doing the robberies.”
The investigation is still ongoing, Padilla said.
Anyone with additional information is encouraged to call the SMPD at (310) 458-8427 or detectives at (310)458- 8451.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 12, 2007. Read the original PDF.