Two suspects have been arrested for a series of robberies that occurred in late January and early February in the Wilshire, Melrose, Hancock Park and Koreatown areas. Police believe the pair is involved in additional robberies, and are asking for victims to notify investigators.

Police released photographs of the two robbery suspects with the hope additional victims may recognize them and notify authorities (photo by Edwin Folven).

The suspects were identified as Jose Roberto Junior Marroquin, 18, and Alan Arellano, 20. They allegedly randomly targeted people walking alone during the afternoon or at night, and took turns robbing the victims at gunpoint, said Det. Ron Kim, with the Los Angeles Police Department’s Olympic Division.

After Marroquin was arrested following a robbery on Feb. 7, police searched his residence and recovered an air pistol resembling an authentic firearm that detectives believe was used in the robberies.

“We talked to one of the suspects and he confessed to 10 robberies,” Kim said.

Officer Anthony Kong, with the LAPD’s Olympic Division, said police had been actively looking for the suspects for approximately three weeks prior to the arrests. The break in the case came on Feb. 7 when the suspects attempted to rob a victim sitting on a bus bench near Arlington Avenue and Venice Boulevard.

One of the suspects waited in a vehicle while the other assailant got out and robbed the victim. A witness used a cell phone to take a photograph of the vehicle and license plate, and the photo was later turned over to investigators.

Kong said the license plate number led them to Marroquin, who was arrested on Feb. 9 at his residence. Police determined Marroquin’s accomplice was Arellano, and investigators contacted the second suspect. He agreed to meet authorities outside of the LAPD’s Southwest Division, where he was taken into custody.

Kong said the arrests were made possible through collaboration between officers from the Wilshire and Olympic divisions. Both suspects reside in a neighborhood near the University of Southern California, Kong said. Neither suspect has a criminal history involving violent crime.

The robberies all occurred between 3 p.m. and midnight from Jan. 20 through Feb. 7. Police said the victims ranged from a Los Angeles Superior Court judge to a 13-year-old boy. Kong added that the men were violent, and knocked one victim unconscious.

In addition to evidence such as the suspect’s confession and the pistol allegedly used in the robberies, Kong said Marroquin was captured on surveillance camera video at a Redbox DVD rental machine using a credit card stolen from a victim.

The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has filed four counts of second-degree robbery and two counts of attempted second-degree robbery against Marroquin. He is scheduled to be arraigned on March 3.

One count of second degree-robbery has been filed against Arellano, who is scheduled for arraignment on March 9.

Anyone who may have been a victim or has information about the robbery spree, is urged to contact detectives with the LAPD Olympic Division’s Robbery Unit at (213)382-9460. During weekends and off-hours, call the LAPD’s 24-hour hotline at (877)LAPD247.