How My Weekend Started

Four brothers arrested in North Hollywood robbery spree
Article Last Updated: 07/09/2007 10:29:55 AM PDT

NORTH HOLLYWOOD - Four brothers were in custody today in connection with a robbery spree in which the suspects allegedly used a replica handgun, baseball bats, and a knife to stick up their victims and steal cellphones and jewelry, police said.

Police said the incidents began just before 11 p.m. Friday when police responded to an assault with a deadly weapon and several armed robbery calls in the North Hollywood area. Officers spotted the suspects' vehicle before taking them into custody without incident, police said.

One victim of an assault told police he was high on drugs when several males confronted him before he blacked out, police said. He later woke up at a hospital with facial injuries, unaware of how he got there, police said.

Jose Alberto Garcia, a 25-year-old construction worker from Reseda, and Jose Cruz Ibarra, 22, from Reseda were arrested in the 7300 block of Laurel Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood. Juan Carlos Gonzalez, a 27-year-old home child care worker, also from Reseda was arrested about a block away on Sherman Way. Manuel Antonio Ibarra, a 20-year-old cashier, from Huntington Park, was arrested in the 4200 block of Valerio Street, also nearby, police said.

The suspects were booked Saturday into the Los Angeles County Jail on suspicion of second degree robbery, the detective said. Bail was set at $100,000 for each.

In addition to recovering victim's cellphones, jewelry, and other property, police seized a replica Glock handgun, two baseball bats, and a knife, all believed to have been used in the crime spree, police said.

LAPD Detective Joe Esquivel identified the suspects as brothers and said detectives were looking into whether the men were involved in other heists.
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