3 Spring Valley Residents Suspected in Robbery Spree

Three Spring Valley residents were arrested Thursday for a recent string of pedestrian robberies in San Diego, according to police. The names of the two males, ages 22 and 23, and female, 38, were not released by the San Diego Police Department because of the on-going investigation, according to Lt. Andra Brown.

The suspects were arrested in Pacific Beach following a robbery and attempted robbery in University Heights Thursday night. Officers patrolling the Pacific Beach area heard radio reports from University Heights and noticed similarities to three recent robberies in their jurisdiction, according to Brown.

The robberies all involved two male suspects armed with a knife threatening pedestrians and stealing cell phones and wallets. In one case, the suspects were seen getting into a small, white car driven by a female, according to police.

After hearing the radio reports in University Heights Thursday, officers went to the areas in Pacific Beach where the prior robberies had been reported, looking for suspects. According to police, officers noticed two men that fit the suspects’ descriptions near the intersection of Dawes and Missouri streets. As officers approached the suspects, one dropped a knife, according to Brown.

Police also contacted a woman in a white car nearby. After coordinating with officers investigating the University Heights cases, all three suspects were arrested for robbery and conspiracy to commit robbery, according to police.

The two robbery attempts on Thursday were reported within a few minutes of each other, police said, beginning just after 11 p.m. when a man walking across the Robinson Street Bridge over state Route 163 was accosted as he talked on a cell phone. A suspect grabbed him from behind and demanded his cell phone and wallet, according to Brown. The pedestrian screamed and the suspect threatened to stab him and the two struggled until the suspect ran off without any of the pedestrian’s property.

No weapon was seen during the robbery attempt, police said.

The second pedestrian robbery was reported in the 1400 block of Tyler Avenue. A suspect came up behind a man walking and placed a knife to his throat and pushed him to the ground, according to police. Two suspects punched and kicked the man multiple times and ran off with his cell phone.

Between Sept. 21 and Oct. 4, three pedestrian robberies were reported in Pacific Beach, generally between 11 p.m. and midnight. Three similar robberies were reported between Sept. 21 and Sept. 28 in Hillcrest and University Heights. All the cases involved two males threatening pedestrians with a knife, according to police.