PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY — Police on Thursday night arrested four people they believe are responsible for two street robberies that occurred earlier in the day, one on Sixth Street near Santa Monica High School and one at Euclid Street and Michigan Avenue.
In the first robbery, a 16-year-old Samohi student was stabbed in the cheek about 9:10 a.m. after she resisted giving up her belongings, police said.
She had been approached by a female attacker in the 2000 block of Sixth Street as she was heading to campus, police said. The suspect took her purse and cell phone and escaped in a blue-green colored van, according to Sgt. Jay Trisler, a police department spokesman. The victim was treated on Thursday and released from the hospital.
The second robbery occurred about 10 minutes later when a male attacker allegedly approached a female Santa Monica College student, displayed a knife and demanded her belongings. The suspect made off with the victim’s purse, cell phone and jewelry, according to police.
The suspects were arrested about 10 p.m. Thursday at 47th and Main streets near South Central Los Angeles after officers identified the van, Trisler said. Detectives found the vehicle using a partial license plate number a witness provided.
Trisler said property belonging to both of the victims was discovered in the suspects’ possession.
Three of the suspects were adults and were identified as Mary Montes, 18, Roberto Rodriguez, 28, Crystal Marquez, 20. The fourth suspect was a 17-year-old juvenile whose name was not released. All of the suspects were residents of Los Angeles.
The three adults will face robbery and street gang charges. Montes also will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the first robbery, Trisler said. The juvenile suspect is charged with possession of stolen property.
The suspects were being held at the Santa Monica Jail and were expected to be arraigned at the LAX Courthouse on Monday, Trisler said.
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