Alleged L.A. Fashion District Robbers Arrested

From May to September, up to three suspected bandits committed a string of 10 muggings and armed robberies in the greater Fashion District, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. The three men were arrested recently after one suspect tried to use a victim’s credit card to buy gas.

One of the suspects, Miguel Sanchez, 27, is being held in lieu of $2.5 million in bail. The other suspects are Gamaliel Hernandez, 22, and Hector Flores, 42.

Sanchez and his cohorts allegedly robbed two businesses while armed with a handgun. They are also suspected of preying on single women, snatching their purses and sometimes beating them.

The successful apprehension of these suspects is just one more indication that the Los Angeles Fashion District has become a safer place, according to Kent Smith, executive director of the Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District. According to the BID’s crime statistics, the district’s crime rates are low, on average of four crimes a week. Reported crimes include felonies and less-serious misdemeanors. “It’s equivalent to crime rates in Brentwood and Woodland Hills,” Smith said, comparing the BID’s crime rate to the low rates of a couple of suburban areas in Los Angeles County. In comparison, the LAPD’s Central division, which includes a portion of the Fashion District, receives more than 73 crime reports each week.

Smith also pointed out that only one of the crimes occurred within the boundaries of the Fashion District BID, which is patrolled by a “Safe” team of yellow-shirted security officers who travel the 90-block area by bicycle and by car. The other alleged crimes took place south of the 10 freeway, an industrial area considered to be part of the greater Fashion District but outside the boundaries of the BID. —Andrew Asch