An accused gunman suspected of shooting and holding up drivers in South Coast Plaza and Fashion Island parking lots, and who police say broke a woman’s teeth with the barrel of a pistol outside a casino, was arrested on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
The 21-year-old South Los Angeles man committed at least three armed robberies and one attempted armed robbery in Orange and Los Angeles counties, according to a law enforcement affidavit filed with the complaint. The agent, with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said the suspect, Oshae Pollard, roamed upscale shopping center parking lots with an eye for victims sporting pricey watches and driving luxury cars.
The crimes occurred between August 25 and September 22.
Around 11:40 p.m. on Aug. 25, prosecutors say, Pollard ran toward a victim in the parking lot of the Hustler Casino in Gardena, pushed her to the ground and pulled at her purse as she screamed for help. He pulled out a black semi-automatic pistol and broke her teeth as he shoved the barrel of the gun into the victim’s mouth, according to the agent’s sworn statement.
Pollard told the victim that if she yelled again, he would kill her, the affidavit said. After a witness yelled in their direction, he allegedly grabbed the victim’s money and fled in his car. Pollard was accused of taking between $1,000 and $2,000.
Less than six hours later, two male suspects approached a taxi in the parking lot of Winchell’s Donut House in Carson, when one of them pointed a two-toned, semi-automatic pistol at the driver and told him to relax and give them his money and wallet, according to the affidavit.
The driver told police he feared for his life and didn’t move, which led the suspects to repeatedly hit him in the face. One of the suspects got into the taxi and pointed a gun at the driver until he handed over his wallet and cell phone, the statement said. The stolen items were worth around $560.
Surveillance footage in the area showed one of the suspects had a metal bracelet around his right wrist and a dark-shaded tattoo on his left wrist, the affidavit said.
That same night, around 10:04 p.m., two suspects stopped their blue Kia Forte in front of two people standing near their Rolls-Royce and Ferrari in the parking lot of Fashion Island in Newport Beach.
The owner of the Ferrari told police he got suspicious about the suspects approaching them and went back to his car. Both suspects approached the owner of the Rolls-Royce, and one of them pointed a semi-automatic pistol at the victim and demanded, “Give me all your cash! Where is the cash at?” according to the affidavit.
Because he feared for his life, the victim told investigators that he handed over his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch with a blue face, brown Berluti wallet with the initials “KR” and Rolls-Royce keys.
As the suspects robbed the Rolls-Royce driver, the Ferrari driver attempted to leave, but one of the suspects ran to his driver’s side door and fired a round into the car, barely missing the driver, the affidavit said. The victim still drove to a nearby gas station, where he asked a clerk to call police.
Both suspects then got in their Kia and fled, the agent wrote. Newport Beach police responded to the mall parking lot and found a single nine-millimeter shell casing.
The value of the stolen items in the Fashion Island case was estimated at $44,000.
On Sept. 22 around 8:37 p.m., a man was getting into his Lamborghini SUV in the parking lot of South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, when a suspect pointed a semi-automatic pistol at him and said, “Give me the watch, give me the ring, give me the car.”
He repeated that statement several times and then said, “I’m gonna shoot you. I’m gonna kill you,” the affidavit said. The suspect repeated himself three to four times before shooting the victim in the left hand.
He then pointed the gun at the victim’s chest and said, “You’re a dead man,” according to the affidavit.
As the victim removed his watch, the suspect shot him again in the left thigh. The victim kicked the suspect, knocking him to the ground, and then got out of his car and continued kicking the suspect, the affidavit said. Once the suspect stood up, the pair fought for around 10 or 15 seconds before the victim got back into his car and drove away.
The suspect also ran to his car, which appeared to be a blue Kia Forte, and drove toward Bristol Street.
Investigators obtained a search warrant and learned that Pollard’s phone was at each of the locations before, during and after each of the robberies and the attempted robbery, according to the affidavit.
On Oct. 16, Irvine police stopped Pollard for driving without a rear license plate and arrested him after they allegedly found him carrying a concealed firearm in his car, a blue Kia Forte.
Police also reported smelling marijuana and asked Pollard and his female passenger to get out of the Kia as they suspected he was driving under the influence. Pollard allegedly refused to identify himself to police and acted belligerent and uncooperative, the affidavit stated.
While searching the Kia, police said they found a loaded, two-toned Glock Model Gen 5 9-millimeter pistol with a large-capacity magazine on the floorboard behind the driver’s seat.
During the arrest, police also found a black ski mask belonging to Pollard, which victims reported he wore in at least two of the robberies, according to the statement. The rose tattoo on his left hand seemed to match the tattoo of the suspect who robbed a taxi driver outside the Winchell’s Donut House, police said.
Pollard was released from custody, and the firearm found in his car was test-fired by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The gun produced the same shell casings as those found at the scenes of the Fashion Island robbery and the attempted robbery at South Coast Plaza, agents said. The ATF analysis also determined the gun found in Pollard’s car was the one used at the scenes of both shootings.
A search warrant obtained for Pollard’s Instagram found that he was wearing a metal bracelet that matched the one a suspect wore at the donut shop robbery. While monitoring Pollard’s Instagram, investigators said, they saw that he posted twice while seeming to wear an Audemars Piguet Royal Oak watch with a blue face that matched the one stolen.
Pollard was charged with interference with commerce by robbery (the Hobbs Act) and the use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. If convicted of all charges, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison.
The crimes were investigated by the ATF Orange County Violent Crime Task Force.
