LA police say alleged robbery suspect accidentally shot accomplice while unloading stolen tourist goods

Two men have been arrested in connection with a follow-home robbery that targeted four tourists in Los Angeles after one of them was accidentally shot by another as they were allegedly unloading the stolen property from a vehicle, authorities said Friday. 

Artiz Alvarez, 20, and Chanz Lee Yarbrough, 21, both of Los Angeles, face multiple charges in connection with the April 20 home invasion, the Los Angeles Police Department said. 

Just before the incident, the four tourists, all men visiting from Northern California, arrived at their Airbnb from a restaurant. As they got out of their vehicle around 12:45 a.m., three suspects approached them and held them up at gunpoint, the LAPD said. 

Two of the suspects were armed with handguns and the third had a rifle, police said. One victim was pistol-whipped and they were forced to go inside the home where they were ordered to get on the floor while the residence was ransacked, the LAPD said. 

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The $75,000 worth of belongings stolen include a high-end watch, Mercedes key fob, phones, designer clothing, and currency, police said. 

A short time after the robbery, a shooting occurred at 1:15 a.m. When officers responded, they found a trail of blood from a sidewalk to an apartment door. SWAT officers were called and entered the empty unit. 

Investigators obtained a search warrant and found many of the stolen items from the earlier robbery inside the apartment unit where one of them lived, the LAPD said. Inside, officers found three guns, two semi-automatic handguns and an “AR Pistol,” a police news release said. 

At 2:15 a.m. that same day, Yarbrough went to a hospital with a gunshot wound to his left leg. He told authorities he was shot by someone while in Hollywood. Investigators determined he was accidentally shot by another one of the suspects as they were unloading the stolen items from a vehicle. 

One of the guns that belonged to a follow-home robbery suspect in Los Angeles, police said.
(LAPD)

After the shooting, the three suspects took the stolen items into the apartment and took Yarbrough to a hospital. Alvarez was arrested on April 25 in connection with the robbery. 

He is charged with four counts each of kidnap for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon and one count of being an ex-con with a gun. At the time of the crime, Alvarez was out on bond for a different robbery, police said. Yarbough is charged with four counts each of kidnap for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. 

They are each being held on $4 million bail. The third suspect has not been identified.