A man and a teenaged boy were arrested last week on suspicion of robbing an off-duty Long Beach police officer, then fleeing in an SUV as the officer fired at least one shot at them, authorities said Monday, Aug. 10.
In a pair of SWAT operations in Los Angeles in the early morning hours on Friday, Aug. 7, Long Beach and Los Angeles police took 22-year-old Mellaki Hanzome Easter and a 16-year-old boy into custody, Long Beach police said.
The two were suspected of walking up to an off-duty Long Beach police officer as he sat in his vehicle near Orange Avenue and Bixby Road about 1:30 p.m. on July 12, with at least one robbing him at gunpoint, police said.
The off-duty officer fired shots at the suspects, who ran back to a black Mercedes SUV and fled, police said. There were no reports of injuries.
A third suspect has not been identified or found and what was taken from the officer was not disclosed by police.
Days after the shooting, Long Beach police released video footage of the black Mercedes SUV in hopes of generating help from the public. Police did not say whether any tips helped in the apprehension of the two suspects.
Police said the suspects were also involved in a separate robbery in Los Angeles.
Easter was arrested in the 1300 block of 118th Street and booked into jail on suspicion of two counts of robbery and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, police said. He was being held on $100,000 bail.
The teen was arrested in the 12200 block of Elva Avenue on suspicion of the same charges and booked into juvenile hall, where he was being held without bail. Both addresses are in Los Angeles.
Detectives plan to present the case to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office this week for filing consideration.