At gunpoint, Clemente Xiloj business has been visited three times by thieves who have already demanded from his wife the cash of sales.
The main perpetrator of the assaults is already in the bars for six years, which the man of Guatemalan origin thanked the Los Angeles Police Department for his intervention.
Mayor Karen Bass, the head of the Los Angeles Police Department, Jim McDonnell, and the Los Angeles County District, Nathan Hochman, announced the arrest of a band of thieves responsible for almost 100 robberies, which does not include the Clemente Xiloj business.
“I feel safe,” Clemente said as a reaction to the news. “I don’t get into anyone and I don’t want anyone to get me into me.”
The eight individuals suspected of being part of the gang Rich Rollin Burglary CrewThey are accused of participating in 92 robberies in Los Angeles area in the last three years.
Most of the suspects, whose ages range between the ages of 22 and 47, were arrested on Wednesday, August 20 when simultaneous search warrants were fulfilled in eight places in Los Angeles: Carson, Hawthorne and Inglewood, according to Jim McDonnell, who ruled out that the arrested have been part of the recent wave of robberies in the city of San Fernando.
“This operation demonstrates our firm commitment to public safety and our strategy to dismantle groups that take advantage of our communities,” said McDonnell.
Numerous team detective in the west area of Los Angeles and the West Operations Office participated in the multiple search orders, along with North Hollywood detectives, West Valley, Olympic, Hollywood, Wilshire and the central areas of LAPD.
“This coordinated effort involved our gang impact teams, squads of the Metropolitan Division, with the support of the Hawthorne and Inglewood Police departments, and the Carson station of the Sheriff Department of the Los Angeles County Sheriff.
The LAPD head reported that some of the robberies date back to 2022, but most occurred in 2024 and affected dozens of families throughout the city.
The series of affected had a strong impact in areas from West Los Angeles to Hollywood, Wilshire, North Hollywood, West Valley, the Northeast of Devonshire, Fothill and Topanga.
The advance of police investigations occurred in February 2025 when three of the suspects involved in the robberies network were arrested after vehicular persecution.
The officers recognized that the truck was used in two robberies that occurred the day before, on February 12, it was the same.
Then the initial arrests, the detectives used the information they obtained to identify more suspects.
In April 2025, a search warrant was executed in a residence in Los Angeles, where two rifles, five guns, a large number of ammunition, bulletproof vests, large capacity loaders for rifles and guns, large capacity loaders were recovered (including a 50 -bullet gun drill), bulletproof vests, jewelry, high -end watches, stolen credit cards, stolen credit cards, identifications false and multiple vehicle registration plates.
“This operation is a great victory for our city, but it is also part of a bigger story. Just a few weeks ago, we learned that homicides are at its lowest level in 60 years,” said Mayor Bass.
He added that, earlier this year, violent crime in Los Angeles continued to decrease.
“And they are not just figures. They represent lives, saved families. Neighborhoods feel safer,” he added. “But they are data that does not reflect how people feel … arrests such as the ones that have been made today are a key factor of the collaboration that we have forged among the regional agencies of the public order of LAPD.”
That feeling of the people is expressed by José Luis Ramírez, owner of a footwear repair business, “El Tapatío”, located on Lorena Street, in eastern Angels.
“I have years with my business and they have never assaulted me,” he said. “The Chicanos who lived in the area have already died or are in jail; they only came and asked for one or two dollars to buy a beer. Only the drunkards remain,” said the man born in Guadalajara, Jalisco.
Two other people not involved in the robberies were arrested under suspicion of murder attempt, said McDonnell.
After pointing out that the thieves committed the crimes “not out of necessity, but for greed.” The County District Prosecutor, Nathan Hochman made it clear that, although the charges against the eight defendants do not constitute a evidence in a court, “we will condemn each beyond any reasonable doubt with evidence in court.”
He acknowledged that, when there is a robbery of a business or it is a residential robbery, it is very difficult to track thieves, although he clarified, some of them have criminal history of one or two serious crimes, and, if possible, they could face life imprisonment sentences, under the rules of law three crimes and outside.
Hochman said the Police and the Prosecutor’s Office will also persecute the pawns or any other person involved in converting stolen goods into money for criminals.
Matt Epstein, president of the Sherman Oaks Tenants Association, (Soha) where there was a series of robberies to homes and businesses, acknowledged that the LAPD has little staff and budget to do the job.
Indeed, until December 2024, the LAPD had 8,802 order officers, while New York, a smaller city than Los Angeles, has 40,210 uniformed agents.
“Our municipal councilors and leaders are spending more money on trying to solve the problem of homeless people than to maintain the security of our citizens,” he told La Opinion.
He said that in Soha they have always worked “very closely and very well” with the LAPD, “which always prioritizes our concerns and security.”
And so far, do you feel safe or insecure in your community?
“Hum. Not really. I have been in this community all my life. I’ve been here for almost 70 years in Los Angeles and, do you know? No, I don’t feel safe.”
Professional criminals
A total of ten suspects who were arrested have a criminal record for violent and property crimes. They are confirmed members of the gang Rich Rollin Burglary Crew.
During the operation of August 20 in five neighborhoods, eight of them were arrested and imprisoned. They face charges that include theft and possession of controlled substances and possession of a firearm. His name are:
- Devon Collier, 37
- Tyrone Tisby, 47
- Frank Tisby, 38
- Jeremy Shepard, 38
- Jermaine Kimbrough, 22
- Michael Lewis, 20
- Marquell Lewis, 26
Other individuals who were already in custody for unrelated positions: Anthony Leslie, 36, and Sean Quinney, 36, who face positions of murder attempt. And, in response to an active search order, Eric Cannon gave the police on August 22.
“These individuals represent the type of repeat offenders we are addressed through our crime suppression strategies,” said Jim McDonnell, LAPD manager.
“Its arrests underline our progress in reducing robberies and other crimes during searches,” he added.