Police Warn of 4 Kidnaps, Robberies in N. Hollywood

NORTH HOLLYWOOD —  Four women have been kidnapped and robbed, and two of them sexually assaulted, in the North Hollywood area during the past month, prompting Los Angeles police to warn women to be wary when in the area at night.

Between Feb. 3 and March 8, there have been at least four crimes by the same one or two men on lone women walking to their apartments late at night. The apartments were all in the Lankershim area, south of Magnolia Boulevard and north of Ventura Boulevard, Los Angeles Police Det. Karen Crawford said Friday.

In the first two cases, the women were kidnapped, taken to ATM machines and forced to withdraw money. In the most recent two cases, the victims were also sexually assaulted, police said.

All of the crimes involved a handgun, Det. Tracey Angeles said.

The four victims were in their 20s but there were no other similarities among them to suggest the criminals were preying on women of a particular race, appearance or employment, authorities said.

Police held a news conference Friday afternoon to alert the public to the crimes. Although they all appear to be related and it is possible there are more victims, detectives stopped short of calling the crimes the work of serial criminals.

“We don’t want to cause a panic,” Crawford said.

The assailants were described as black males, one of them light-complected, 5 feet 8 or 9 inches tall, weighing about 160 to 170 pounds and between 23 and 25 years old. The other was described as about 5 feet 10 or 11, 175 to 185 pounds and 25 to 28 years old.

In some of the cases there was only one man involved, and in others both men were involved, Angeles said.

Detectives released few details about the crimes, worried that doing so would jeopardize their investigation. They urged women to take extra precaution at night to prevent similar crimes from happening to them.

“Women should always be aware of their surroundings,” Angeles said, adding that if they pass someone while walking at night, “They should make eye contact with that person and let the person know, ‘Hey, I saw you,’ ” she said. “Appear confident.”

Women who must be out at night should phone ahead to someone at their destination to turn the lights on or wait outside for them to arrive, she said. If a woman is driving and thinks she is being followed, she should drive to a police station, not to her home.

She urged women to do their banking during the day and avoid ATMs at night.

“I don’t go to ATMs at night,” she said. “And I’m armed.”