Three young men pleaded not guilty Thursday in connection with a home-invasion robbery in Sherman Oaks in which thousands of dollars worth of luxury handbags and jewelry were stolen.
Dion Elijah Hill, 24; Juan Carlos Gonzalez, 21, and Isaiah Jaron Rankins, 22, are accused of breaking into the Sherman Oaks home about 8:45 p.m. Monday while a victim was inside, stealing the items and then driving to Compton, where they allegedly broke into homes to hide from police, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Los Angeles police said Metropolitan Division officers observed a black vehicle with three suspects following the break-in, and the vehicle was tracked to the 1000 block of West 152nd Street in Compton, between Wilmington and Central avenues, where all three men exited the vehicle and fled on foot.
“Metropolitan Division K-9 conducted a search, and all three suspects were apprehended,” police said in a statement.
The LAPD’s Commercial Crimes Division subsequently executed three search warrants Tuesday morning in Compton and two additional locations in South Los Angeles connected to the suspects, and they recovered property at the Compton residence connected to the Sherman Oaks home invasion robbery, according to police.
Hill is charged with one count of home-invasion robbery and two counts of first-degree residential burglary with a person present, while Gonzalez and Rankins are charged with one count each of home invasion robbery and first-degree residential burglary with a person present, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
The charges include allegations that Hill and Gonzalez were out on bail on their own recognizance at the time of the crimes and that Hill and Rankins have one or more prior serious or violent felony convictions, according to court records.
District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday that Hill and Gonzalez were “out on bail on a residential burglary,” and “that bail was given to them immediately…
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