Police are searching for a man suspected of assaulting a Manhattan Village Mall employee earlier this month before fleeing with stolen merchandise, according to authorities.
At 9:30 p.m. on Dec. 4, a security employee of Fry’s Electronics, 3600 N. Sepulveda Blvd. in Manhattan Beach attempted to detain a man who tried to leave the crowded store without paying for a small item, police said.
“The suspect punched the loss prevention guy on the side of the head then ran out of the store,” said Manhattan Beach Police Detective Michael Rosenberger. “Several associates attempted to chase him.”
Rosenberger said the suspect ran north into the upper level parking lot before taking off into the mall parking lot, where he was last seen by Fry’s employees.
Police said the victim, 24, did not require serious medical attention.
Store surveillance cameras caught images of the suspect, through which police hope the public will be able to help locate and identify him.
The suspect is described by police as white, age 25 to 30, brown hair, 6 feet tall with a medium build.
He is wanted by police on robbery charges.
“It would just be shoplifting, but since he used force to take the property it becomes a robbery, which is a much more serious crime,” Rosenberger said.
Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Detective Rosenberger at (310) 802-5127. ER
