Armed Robbers Hit 7-11 at Palo Verde/Atherton; They're Pursued Onto CSULB Campus, Crash Vehicle Near Dorms And Flee On Foot With Loot
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(Feb. 9, 2019, 1:55 p.m.) -- The 7-11 store on the southwest corner of Palo Verde Ave/Atherton Street became the victim of an armed robbery at about 2:20 a.m. today (Sat. Feb. 9) when three suspects -- one with a short-barreled shotgun, another wielding a knife and wearing dark clothing -- robbed the store of roughly $200 while an accomplice waited in a nearby getaway car.
As luck would have it, a CSULB police officer was driving past the 7-11, spotted the two suspects head into the getaway car on Atherton St., pursued the vehicle and the suspects drove onto campus where they crashed their car near the Parkside dorms.
The suspects fled on foot with the loot; CSULB sent an email alert advising Parkside dorm students to "shelter in place" and at this point the suspects are "in the wind" (whereabouts unknown.)
LBPD's Crime Incident Application doesn't indicate any armed robberies to businesses in the Palo-Atherton quadrant (businesses on three corners) from August 1, 2018 through today (Feb. 9, 2019).
While total crimes were down, some crimes were up and have reached noteworthy levels. In 2018: 21 res burgs (up from 14). 13 grand thefts (averaging more than one a month) and 29 petty thefts (up from 19)
On December 10, 2018, NBC4 Los Angeles reporter Eric Leonard reported that L.A.P.D. data indicated that [NBC4 text] "The number of crimes in which homeless individuals were listed as suspects increased by nearly 50 percent in the city of LA in 2018. LAPD officials said most concerning were the disproportionate number of homeless individuals listed as suspects in physical attacks." (Full NBC4 report here.) Mr. Leonard's NBC4 report noted that "The descriptions of perpetrators in the reports as homeless are not conclusive..." In similar fashion, LBREPORT.com believes LBPD citations/arrests indicating a person is transient or homeless may not be conclusive, but we presume a sworn officer's field observation and notation is indicative of what he/she encounters.
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In Jan. 2018, the City of Long Beach issued a press release announcing that its Justice Lab had conducted "26 in-depth interviews with people who had 11 or more citations and arrests" and "spoke with over 21 subject matter experts, participated in over 12 observational visits, and had over 65 participants help co-create the Justice Lab's initiatives." The City's release omitted mentioning the "transient" aspect included in the Justice Lab's data.
On December 18, 2018, a Task Force on homelessness/affordable housing chosen by Mayor Garcia, who didn't include individuals/groups focused on crime impacts, issued a report that didn't include the word "crime" in its text. Its recommendations included increasing taxpayer spending for various homeless and housing programs (including a "dedicated local revenue source") and launching a City Hall "educational" effort to change public opinion toward accepting homeless services in various neighborhoods through a "YIMBY" ("yes in my backyard") campaign.
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