Los Angeles police arrested three people they said were robbed and targeted up to 131 commercial businesses throughout Los Angeles County, many of which were independent and family-owned restaurants.
Between March and June 2023, police said, three people they dubbed the “Punch Crew” robbed several restaurants, including several serving Asian and Oriental cuisine. The restaurants were often small and family-owned, and the suspects stole about $80,000 from various businesses and caused about $160,000 in damage, police said.
“According to records obtained through search warrants, the suspects had a pattern of burglarizing several ethnic restaurants at once in one area before moving to another part of the city,” police said in a statement. Police have not named the restaurants that were robbed.
The LAPD identified the suspects as Jacob Pugh, 19, of Lawndale, Kewon Stevenson, 25, of Los Angeles, and a juvenile who has not been identified. The trio was identified after burglarizing shuttered businesses in the San Fernando Valley area and nearby towns, police said.
North Hollywood Division detectives named the trio for their tactic: They used a sharp punching tool to smash the establishments’ glass doors or windows before taking cash registers, cash and tablet computers.
Police say the Punch Crew used multiple vehicles, including renting vehicles from various rental companies and ride-sharing platforms.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office filed 19 counts of commercial burglary against Pugh and Stevenson, and bail was set at $975,000 for each. Investigators are still working with the prosecutor’s office regarding the status of the juvenile suspect, police said.
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