Two men in their early 20s were charged on Monday in connection with a recent pair of robberies in Long Beach, authorities said.
Long Beach residents Zachary James Pati, 21, and Julian Carvajal, 20, were arrested on Thursday, October 22 and are being in held at the Long Beach Jail on $100,000 and $50,000 bail, respectively.
Pati—who was arrested at his residence—was charged by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office with two felony counts of robbery and Carvajal—who was arrested while on his way to work in the city of Lakewood—was charged with one count of felony robbery, Long Beach Police Department (LBPD) officials said.
Officers responded to the first robbery on Saturday, August 15 at about 4:30PM on the 3300 block of East Seventh Street.
According to investigators, the suspect stole a cellphone from a victim who had posted an ad to sell a cellphone with an online classifieds site.
“The victim met the suspect for the transaction and during the course of their discussion the suspect shoved the victim,” according to the LBPD. “The victim fell to the pavement and the suspect took her cellphone.”
The victim was not seriously injured.
The second robbery took place on Sunday, October 11, at a business on the 4400 block of Atlantic Avenue, during which officers responded to the call at about 1:00PM.
“The investigation revealed that two suspects entered the business, jumped behind the counter and verbally threatened the employee,” according to the LBPD. “The suspects then proceeded to take items from the business and fled the scene.”
After analyzing evidence related to both robberies, robbery detectives identified and arrested the two suspects.
Police were also able to recover evidence related to the crimes during the execution of a search warrant.
The LBPD’s Robbery Detail recommends the public exercise the following safety tips as it relates to posting ads to sell items online:
- Communicate only through e-mail until you feel comfortable that the individual’s interest is valid
- Be wary of buyers who are out-of-area, as they may be fraudulent
- If anything feels suspicious discontinue to sale. When you’re comfortable that the buyer seems legitimate, ask the buyer to give you his or her phone number. (Sometimes, the area code may indicate if they are in your area.) Try the phone number to find out if it’s valid. If the person responds, chat on the phone for a bit about the item for sale and decide if the person seems genuine.
- Make it clear that you will only accept cash for the item. Any other form of payment is highly likely to be fraudulent.
- Agree to meet during daylight hours in a public place and bring a friend to accompany you. Turn down requests to meet at your house, during darkness, in an unfamiliar place, or by yourself.
- Don’t hand over the item until you have the cash in hand. Don’t accept partial payment or anything other than cash for the transaction. If the method of payment changes from your previous agreement, walk away from the deal.
- If the potential buyer wants time to consider and comes back later, follow the same procedures. Don’t get careless the second time around.
Anyone with information regarding this investigation is encouraged to call Robbery Detective Parkhill at 562.570.5535. Anyone wishing to remain anonymous may call 1.800.22.TIPS (8477),or text TIPLA plus your tip to 274637 (CRIMES), or visit www.LACrimeStoppers.org. The Long Beach Police Department Robbery Detail requests people to follow their Twitter feed @LBPDrobbery for safety tips.