2 Suspects Held in Robberies Along Restaurant Strip

Two men suspected of terrorizing Melrose Avenue restaurant owners during a string of late-night armed robberies over the past few months are in custody, authorities said Tuesday.

Los Angeles police said Ronald Hopson, 33, and Paul Cohen, 37, were arrested Sunday at the Hollywood Seven Star Motel and booked for investigation of armed robbery in 11 holdups between July and September. Investigators identified Hopson as the suspected gunman and Cohen as his lookout.

Hollywood Division Lt. Neil Zachary said the robbers netted about $30,000, including $11,000 from one heist. He would not identify the restaurants involved, but said all of the robberies occurred on or near Melrose Avenue’s famed shopping and restaurant strip, which runs roughly from La Brea Avenue to La Cienega Boulevard.

Laura Frank, chef at Caffe Notte at 7463 Melrose Ave., which was robbed twice, said the same bandit entered through the late-night restaurant’s back alley.

‘Blow Your Head Off’

“Basically he would just charge in plain as daylight with no mask, no nothing, and say, ‘Give me all your money or I’m gonna blow your head off,’ ” she said.

Frank and her co-workers became so alarmed that they hired a nighttime security guard and started closing two hours earlier than normal on weekend nights, when the robberies occurred.

Linda’s restaurant, at 6715 Melrose Ave., was robbed just two weeks ago. Owner Linda Keegan said a man wearing a black outfit and brandishing a .45-caliber revolver came in through the back door shortly after 12:30 a.m., demanding money and jewelry from her and her customers.

“He stuck the .45 in my face, then placed (it) against my neck when he had me on the floor,” Keegan recalled. “I had to convince him I didn’t have any more money.”

“Since early July one or two of these individuals have been hitting trendy restaurants,” Zachary said. “We had done some stakeouts to try to capture these desperadoes. Then last Saturday, a parole officer asked us to serve a parole violation notice on Hopson, and when the officers saw him, they realized that he matched the description of the holdup man.”

Identified by Victims

Several victims subsequently identified Hopson’s photograph, according to Zachary, who said that Cohen was also arrested at the Hollywood motel room and booked as Hopson’s accomplice.

Zachary said the robberies followed a pattern.

“We believed that they cased the places,” he said. “Because they always picked restaurants with rear access, like an alley, and they always went into the places around closing time and held up the manager for his receipts.”

At the bistro-style eateries that line Melrose Avenue, the robberies had become cause for some concern among regular patrons.

Keegan and Frank said they were greatly relieved to hear of the arrests.

“I’m assuming that the police know what they’re doing,” Keegan said.