Police searching for suspect who robbed multiple people at gunpoint in Westchester

The Los Angeles Police Department has released photos of a suspect they believe to be connected to a pair of armed robberies in the Westchester area in early July. 

According to a statement, the suspect held two separate people at gunpoint within a 15-minute span on the evening of July 2. 

The first incident occurred at around 9:25 p.m. in the 8900 block of Sepulveda Boulevard, police said. It was then that the suspect approached the victim, who was seated inside of a vehicle, asking for a cigarette before pointing a "silver semi-automatic handgun at the victim" and demanding his property, police said. 

After taking the items, he then fled from the scene. 

Then, at 9:40 p.m., the suspect committed a nearly identical robbery in the 5800 block of W. Manchester Boulevard, where he approached a victim near his vehicle in a parking lot, again asking for a cigarette. 

In this instance, however, the suspect walked away from the suspect, but returned a few minutes later.

"Upon his return, the suspect pointed a silver semi-automatic handgun at the victim and demanded his property," the statement said. 

Surveillance footage from the scene shows the suspect leaving the area in a white four-door Mercedes-Benz. 

LAPD has released images of the suspect, captured from a store in the area. He is believed to be between 17 and 25 years old, standing around 5-feet, 6-inches tall and weighing around 135 pounds.

"In both robberies, the suspect was wearing light blue jeans with a tear on the left knee and white velcro high-top shoes," police said. 

Anyone with information was asked to contact investigators at (310) 482-6395.