VALENCIA : 4 Held in Robbery of Catering Truck

Sheriff’s deputies have arrested four men in the robbery of three catering truck employees in Valencia and suspect them of a series of similar robberies in the San Fernando Valley, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said.

Two men armed with a sawed-off shotgun and a knife approached the employees about 2:30 p.m. Thursday as they set up their truck in the 26000 block of Technology Drive, Sgt. Richard Lichten said. The robbers demanded money and also took the employees’ wallets and jewelry, stabbing one of the workers, Lafayette Smith, 60, in the arm. A third man stood guard for the robbers.

The three men escaped in a gray compact car driven by a fourth man, Lichten said, but Smith called the Sheriff’s Department and reported the car’s license plate number.

Deputy Brad Thompson saw the suspects’ vehicle traveling south on the Golden State Freeway, and with the help of other patrol cars halted the car as it exited on Rinaldi Street in Granada Hills, Lichten said. Ricardo Villa, 19; Rafael Galindo, 25; Antonio Rios, 32, and Ramirez Amarillas, 29, all of Pacoima, were taken into custody without incident on suspicion of armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon.