2 Arrested in String of Fast-Food Holdups

Police arrested two men in San Fernando suspected of robbing at least 10 fast-food restaurants in the Valley over the last three weeks, authorities said Wednesday.

Carlos Gonzales, 34, of Simi Valley, and Juan Hernandez, 30, of San Fernando, were booked on suspicion of robbery after they were found at Hernandez’s home Tuesday night in the 1100 block of Hollister Street.

Police suspect the pair are the “Burger Chain Robbers,” who hit 10 restaurants between Aug. 17 and Sunday. Robbers first struck a McDonald’s in the 13000 block of Roscoe Boulevard in Sun Valley, police said. They continued robbing other McDonald’s, Burger King and In-and-Out Burger restaurants, sometimes repeating their heists at the same location days later, authorities added.

“They were robbing some of these restaurants on a daily basis,” said Officer Jason Lee of the Los Angeles Police Department. “And it was never [at] the same time. Sometimes it was late at night, other times it was in the afternoon.”

Police said that in each robbery a gunman, believed to be Gonzales, would walk up to the drive-thru counter and demand money. An accomplice, thought to be Hernandez, would drive up behind the gunman and take him away, police said.

Police would only say a substantial amount of money was stolen. The last robbery occurred last Sunday at the McDonald’s in the 11000 block of Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills.

The suspects had been under surveillance for several days, police said. They were tracked to Hernandez’s San Fernando home about 5 p.m. Tuesday.

One of the men tried to flee but was captured immediately, police said. The other man refused to leave the house and the Los Angeles police SWAT team was called in. Tear gas was fired into the residence about 11 p.m., and the other man surrendered.