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Surveillance video footage of a Boost Mobile store in Culver City getting robbed by an armed masked man in broad daylight has gone viral.
The robbery is reported to have happened around 2:18 pm on Sunday, July 10, inside the store at 4114 Centinela Avenue. The robber seen in the video is suspected to be Lawrence Bell, 37, a former convict currently out on parole.
The video shows Bell entering the store wielding a gun and pointing it at the employees of Boost Mobile, who were talking to a customer at the time. He then jumps over the counter and forces the employee to the floor before allegedly clearing the cash register.
How the police quickly arrested the Boost Mobile Store robber
As per the officials, the Boost Mobile store robber stole around $500.
He then fled on foot but accidentally dropped a set of car keys. The suspect's vehicle was found just one block away from the store by the officers responding to the emergency call.
Inside the car, officers found clothes that the masked suspect could be seen wearing during the robbery in the video. They also found a loaded semi-automatic handgun.
Bell himself was also nabbed after police continued their search of the area. As per the police, at the time of the robbery, Bell was on parole for a few other convictions and was wearing an ankle monitor.
Spike in number of robberies in Culver City
Interestingly, this is the third such robbery incident in Culver City in recent days, with two of them being consecutive. While it's not clear if the same person is responsible for both the robberies, the methods and the clothes worn are very similar.
On Saturday, an employee at a Rite Aid store reported to police about being approached by a suspect who pulled out a black handgun, put it on the counter, and demanded cash from the register.
In a previous incident, a day before the current one, at around 9:25 am on Friday, a suspect in a black ski mask entered a Subway restaurant at 3817 Sepulveda Blvd. and ordered a sandwich.
After getting the food, he pulled out a black handgun and demanded all the cash to be filled in a bag. The employees complied.
He then left the store and ran northbound on Sepulveda towards Venice Boulevard, police reported.
Such incidents indicate the 90% increase in crime rates in Culver City between 2021 and 2022, as compared to the numbers from 2018 and 2019.
