Suspect Arrested In Violent Machete-Wielding Robbery At Victorville Food 4 Less
VICTORVILLE (CBSLA) – A man has been arrested, accused of wielding a machete during a violent robbery at a Food 4 Less in Victorville earlier this year.
Two more suspects are being sought.
San Bernardino County Sheriff's deputies and Victorville police arrested 23-year-old Kenneth Bryant Thursday in the March 12 robbery which occurred at a Food 4 Less in the 14700 block of La Paz Drive.
Bryant, who was wanted on an outstanding warrant, was charged with robbery and a violation of probation.
On Wednesday, authorities released surveillance video from inside the Food 4 Less store taken on March 12 showing the three suspects – two men and a woman – loading items into a shopping cart and then trying to exit the store without paying. As they are confronted by a security guard, one of the suspects pulls out a machete from his shorts and swings it in the direction of the guard, cutting his hand, police said.
The three suspects then abandoned the cart and fled.
According to police, after releasing the security video, several citizens contacted the sheriff's department to identify that the man holding the machete as Bryant.
The outstanding female suspect is described as a Hispanic woman, 5-foot-4, with dark shoulder-length hair. The second man is described as Hispanic or black.
Authorities have not confirmed whether the Food 4 Less robbery is linked to two other machete attacks in Victorville which left a woman and a girl wounded.
The first attack occurred Aug. 27 and the second on Sept. 1, according to police. In both cases, the suspect pulled up in a car outside the victim's homes and then jumped out and attacked them as they were walking inside.
In the Aug. 27 attack, a woman had parked in the driveway of her home in the 12500 block of Tablerock Lane at around 11 p.m. and was walking to her front door when a small dark-colored sedan pulled up in the street, police report.
According to police, the suspect got out, ran at the victim with a large machete-style weapon and struck her while trying to steal her purse. The suspect then ran back to the car and sped away.
The woman was airlifted to a hospital with major injuries.
In the Sept. 1 attack, a juvenile girl had parked in the driveway of her home in the 14800 block of Coachman Road at around 10:30 p.m. and was walking to her front door when a similar incident occurred. The suspect pulled up outside the home in a small dark-colored sedan, ran towards the victim with a machete-like weapon, struck her while trying to take her purse, then fled.
The girl was hospitalized with moderate injuries, police said.
