Separate Incidents: Woman Robbed at Gunpoint; Alert Officer Recovers Loaded Gun

Corrections and changes have been made to this article.

Two incidents involving guns have happened in Manhattan Beach this year: one an armed robbery; the other a search by an MBPD officer resulting in the recovery of a loaded gun.

On Jan. 16 around 7:20 p.m., a woman walking to her vehicle in the parking lot from Trader Joe's on Rosecrans Avenue was confronted by a man with a gun. While walking to her car, she heard a male voice, to which she turned and then had a semi-automatic gun pointed at her.

The man with the gun is described as a male Hispanic, 23, 5'8" to 5'10", 190 pounds, dressed in a black hooded sweatshirt. His accomplice is described as a male Hispanic, 23, 5'8" to 5'9", 190 pounds, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt.

While pointing the gun at the woman, the first suspect grabbed the woman's wallet and fled on a bicycle along with his accomplice.

Earlier in the year, a Manhattan Beach Police Department officer conducting a traffic stop on Artesia Boulevard around 7:26 p.m. on Jan. 10 found a loaded .40 caliber gun hidden in the car's center console below the gear shift, said MBPD Officer Stephanie Martin.

The officer searched the vehicle after learning its solo occupant was on active parole for possession of narcotics for sales. MBPD also found a stolen credit card and iPod. The suspect was arrested.