Two charged in brazen armed robbery

Men may be linked to previous L.A.-area ambushes on guards of armored vehicles.

Two men were arrested Friday morning on suspicion of shooting the guard of an armored truck and making off with $140,000 in a brazen daytime robbery in Harbor City, officials said.

Gregory James, 47, of San Pedro and Lamond Akins, 30, of Compton are facing federal charges in Monday’s robbery. Law enforcement officials believe the men may be linked to two other robberies in which armored-car guards were ambushed and wounded by assailants who escaped with large amounts of cash.

About 11:20 a.m. Monday, two armed men ambushed a Loomis guard who had worked on an ATM at a Bank of America branch at 23800 S. Vermont Ave., according to court records.

According to an affidavit, both men were carrying semiautomatic handguns and shot the guard several times in the right leg before fleeing in a black Chevrolet Malibu.

Investigators linked that car to Akins, the registered owner, and cellphone records show that James was in the area of the robbery, prosecutors said.

Surveillance video shows James pulling into an apartment complex in San Pedro in the black sedan about 10 minutes after the robbery, and both men using the elevator at the building.

According to the affidavit, the two men are also being investigated in connection with an Aug. 4 robbery outside the Hustler Casino in Gardena.

Two Loomis guards were ambushed and wounded during a robbery as they made a cash delivery to the casino. The suspects fled in a white Honda Accord, according to court records, but used several vehicles in an effort to evade authorities — including a black Chevrolet Malibu.

On Sept. 27, two Loomis guards were ambushed after loading cash into an ATM in a 7-Eleven at 2829 S.

Figueroa St. in Carson. One of the guards was shot twice in the buttocks.

Data obtained by investigators show that James’ cellphone was in the area during both of those robberies, according to the affidavit.

James and Akins were charged Friday morning with Hobbs Act robbery and discharging a firearm during a crime.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the Hobbs Act, which targets robbery affecting interstate commerce, carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, with assistance by the Gardena Police Department, officials said.