Police say they have arrested a 22-year-old Los Angeles man and a 16-year-old boy believed to be responsible for robbing an off-duty Long Beach police officer at gunpoint last month, prompting him to fire at their fleeing vehicle.
Early Friday morning, SWAT teams from the Long Beach and Los Angeles police departments arrested Mellaki Hanzome Easter, 22, on 118th Street in the Willowbrook neighborhood and a 16-year-old boy on Elva Avenue in the West Rancho Dominguez neighborhood on suspicion of two counts of robbery and one count of assault with a deadly weapon.
Easter was being held on $100,000 bail. The teenager was being held without bail, and his name was withheld because of his age.
The arrests date back to the robbery of an off-duty LBPD officer at about 1:30 p.m. on July 12 near Bixby Road and Orange Avenue.
During the robbery, detectives believe three people approached the off-duty officer at gunpoint, then fled in a black Mercedes SUV. The off-duty officer opened fire at the fleeing robbers, but did not strike them.
Police said they’re still looking for the third suspect.