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Investigators believe three armed suspects followed their victims home from a Beverly Hills restaurant and then robbed them at gunpoint in the early morning hours Wednesday.
The robbery occurred at about 1:30 a.m. in the 2400 block of Coldwater Canyon Drive, according to Los Angeles police.
The four victims had dined at a Beverly Hills restaurant and had arrived at a home they were renting in Beverly Crest when the armed robbery occurred, police said.
The suspects, who were armed with two handguns and a rifle, forced the victims into the home, police said. In the process, one of the victims was pistol-whipped.
They then stole about $70,000 worth of cash, jewelry and designer clothes, including a watch valued at about $40,000, police said.
"This whole follow-home thing is, I think, astonishing for so many people that are experiencing them," neighbor Jordan Zerah told CBSLA. "It was a very petrifying day."
None of the victims required hospitalization. The victims told police that as they were coming up Coldwater Canyon they noticed a car behind them and did a U-turn to try and ensure they were not being followed.
"They did take precautions, they did notice a car behind them as they're coming up the canyon to this residence," LAPD Det. Chris Marsden told reporters. "They decided to pass the house they're staying in, make a U-turn, and make sure nobody was following them, which is what we recommend. However, in this case, they were still followed."
The suspects were only described as three young males wearing dark clothing. It's unclear if the robbery was caught on security video.
The incident was likely a follow-home robbery, police told CBSLA, part of a growing trend in L.A. over the past year in which suspects tail victims home, usually from high-end restaurants or nightclubs, and rob them of expensive jewelry, purses or other items. There have been at least 250 such cases since the department began noting the trend, an LAPD detective said Wednesday.
Police have listed areas such as Melrose Avenue and the L.A. Jewelry District as places where these crimes originate.
Following a dip in follow-home robberies in March, there has been a considerable uptick in April, police reported last week.