A North Hollywood man is now behind bars after going on a short one man crime spree.
According to police, Nestor Reyes confronted a woman around 7 pm as she was leaving her business in the 3700 block of Burbank Blvd.. The victim had her cell phone in her hand and the suspect grabbed the cell phone and there was a struggle for the victim’s cell phone. The suspect demanded the victim give him her phone and the victim ultimately lets go of her phone.
After the man fled the area, the victim did not report the crime immediately. Instead, she drove home to her residence. Two hours later, she decided to go to the police station to report the crime.
About the same time as the first robbery on Burbank Blvd., and just a couple of blocks away, a 53 year-old woman arrived at her home in the 1200 block of N. Maple St., and pulled her car into the garage. As she exited her vehicle and began retrieving items from the trunk, she was confronted by the suspect standing next to her. The victim, startled, ran into her residence to call the police.
The suspect then stole a bicycle from the victim’s garage. As he tries to make his escape, he is confronted on the sidewalk by a neighbor who heard the victim’s screams. The witness and suspect struggle for control of the stolen bicycle with the suspect threatening the witness with bodily harm before fleeing the area.
Police arrived quickly at the scene and detained Reyes a block away. A search of the suspect resulted in the recovery of a dangerous weapon-brass knuckles.
The suspect, Nestor Reyes, 19 years-old, was arrested for 459 PC Burglary (V’s garage), 664/211-Attempt Robbery and 136.1-Witness Intimidation against the witness, 148-Resisting arrest during police contact, and 21810-Possession of a weapon-brass knuckles.
There were no injuries to the victim or witness during the altercation.
When the officer who took the report at the police station at 9 p.m., units in the field were alerted to the first robbery of the cell phone that had happened two hours earlier. One of the officers from the initial residential bicycle burglary incident realized the description is similar to their suspect in custody.
The officer confirmed that the phone number from the stolen cell phone was in fact the same phone that the suspect in the Maple St. incident was in possession of during his booking. The result was an additional charge of 211 PC-Street Robbery was added to his charges and the cell phone was recovered.
Bail is set at $150,000 for Reyes. He is due back in court on August 21, 2013
