A Torrance man who police say stole multiple times from Long Beach electronics stores was charged Wednesday.
Long Beach police said in a statement Thursday that a male suspect armed with a handgun entered an electronics store on the 1400 block of West Willow Street on Jan. 24 and demanded money from the cash register.
A similar incident occured on Feb. 28 when a male suspect armed with a handgun entered a different Long Beach electronics store on the 300 block of East Anaheim Street and demanded money.
Cash was taken in both instances, police said, but no employees were hurt.
LBPD robbery detectives believed the same suspect was responsible for both robberies and discovered that a similar occurance happened at a Torrance electronics store in Torrance involving the same suspect.
The detectives then worked with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department regarding the robbery, and with the help of LBPD forensic personnel, identified 22-year-old Thomas Lewis of Torrance as the suspect wanted for all three robberies, police said.
Further investigation found that Lewis was already in-custody at the Los Angeles County Jail for a robbery that occured in March in Lynwood.
A search warrant at Lewis’ residence was issued on June 17, when police found evidence believed to be connected to the Long Beach robberies.
The case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office for review on July 3. Lewis was charges with five counts of armed robbery on July 9, and was expected to appear in court Thursday afternoon for arraignment.
Anyone with information regarding any robberies involving Lewis is urged to contact Long Beach Police Robbery Detective Don Collier at 562-570-7464. Anonymous tips may also be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus the tip to 274637 (CRIMES) or visiting LACrimeStoppers.org.