Free Republic

More than a dozen Los Angeles gangs are targeting some of the city's wealthiest residents in a new and aggressive manner, sending out crews in multiple cars to find, follow and rob people driving high-end vehicles or wearing expensive jewelry, according to police. In many cases, they're making off with designer handbags, diamond-studded watches and other items worth tens of thousands of dollars — if not more — and then peddling them to black-market buyers who are willing to turn a blind eye to the underlying violence, police said. In some cases, suspects have been arrested but then released from...

Police have learned that 17 gangs have honed in on the wealthiest residents of the Los Angeles area by robbing them after they leave venues catering to the rich and famous. Police said the robberies are often carried out by crews working from multiple vehicles and that the high-end handbags, watches and other items are then sold regionally on a thriving black market, according to the Los Angeles Times. Violence towards victims is becoming a hallmark of the crimes, said Capt. Jonathan Tippet, who leads a Los Angeles Police Department task force formed as the number of high-end violent robberies...