Police make arrests in L.A. River bike path robbery

The Eastsider
May 23, 2013
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A man and woman suspected of assaulting and robbing a cyclist riding on the L.A. River path in Elysian Valley last week have been arrested. Capt. Jeffrey Bert with the Northeast Division today confirmed that the two persons, who are members of the Frogtown gang, were arrested by gang unit detectives on Wednesday morning in their home, where evidence of the crime was found. “We are still doing more work on the investigation,” said Bert.

The assault took place on the evening of Thursday, May 16 near Riverdale Avenue when a Glendale man who was riding with a group of cyclists was attacked by a person who walked into the path and swung a skateboard into the rider’s chest. Another man hurled a beer bottle, which struck the cyclist’s helmet.

The cyclist, who notified The Eastsider after Wednesday’s arrests were made, said two of his attackers remain at large. “With the information obtained, I’m confident it won’t be long before they are also caught,” said the man. The cyclist found a cell phone on the night of his attack that might have been dropped on the ground by one of his assailants.

Additional police bike patrols and undercover officers have been deployed along the river since the attack, Bert said. “I want to make [potential robbers] think twice about robbing someone who might turn out be an undercover cop.”