Crime & Safety

Pier 1's Alleged Robbers Talk to Media

The two half brothers say they needed rent money and did not have any weapons when they allegedly attempted to rob the store at closing time on a Sunday night in April. They didn't think they'd get caught, reports the Easy Reader.

Deangelo Cal, 23, and Edwin Davis, 25, the two men taken into custody after allegedly attempting to rob the Pier 1 Imports store in Manhattan Beach on Sunday, April 21 are given ample ink in the May 31 issue of the Easy Reader.

The cover story in the local weekly features information gleaned from the two half brothers, their friends and relatives interwoven with snippets of purported facts about the alleged crimes committed that night and comment from Manhattan Beach Police Detective Mike Rosenberger.

"Dressed in head-to-toe black with just their eyes exposed, they’d be in and out, hopefully three or four thousand dollars richer." the article reports.

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"Nobody would get hurt, and they’d finally have enough money to avoid eviction and pay the $725 rent for their Hawthorne home."

The article reports of their caring for and generosity toward family members: "Across the country, Davis still pitched in for his family in Chicago. He bought his younger sister an iPad for her eighth birthday in December, and recently bought his mom a new washing machine, [the men's half sister Vanity] Spruill said. 'I’ve just never seen someone work so hard so that their two sisters could have what they need,' Spruill said."

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The article later reads, "On the morning of March 3, Davis was stopped by a police officer while jaywalking on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, on his way to an interview.

"When the officer searched Davis’ car, he found a toy water gun missing the orange tip. 'It didn’t even look like a real gun,' Davis said.

"His Chrysler 300 was impounded and it contained a safe full of money from 'a good couple weeks in Vegas,' he said."

Furthermore, "He said he’d planned to deposit the cash into the bank after his interview. 'If I did before, things would’ve been different, but everything happens for a reason,' he said.

"Davis was charged with unlawful alteration of an imitation firearm, a misdemeanor, for allegedly removing the orange tip of a toy water gun to make it look real. He pled no contest and was released after serving 31 days in Los Angeles County jail.

"After he was released, he had trouble obtaining his property. He’d have to shell out $700 to get his car back, and the cost was adding up every day.

"'Sometimes you’re pushed in a corner and that happened to be the way out at the time,' Davis said, explaining why he and his brother chose to attempt to rob Pier 1. 'I don’t think anyone likes the feeling of being behind on their bills.'

"He didn’t foresee a difficulty in getting back his property. 'If I could tell the future, I would’ve won the lottery a couple times by now,' he said."

The article reports that the men had notes with instructions that they gave to the manager during the alleged robbery, and that one read, "'I will shoot you in the f***ing head for doing anything heroic.'” [Easy Reader article prints the obscenity.]

Interestingly, the men say they did not have any weapons; police, according to the Easy Reader, believe otherwise.

"According to the police, who would later file kidnapping and false imprisonment charges, the suspects allegedly held a knife to the victim’s throat while they moved her from the back storage room to her office. The kidnapping charges were based on 'moving the victim from one point to another against her will,' said Manhattan Beach Detective Mike Rosenberger. 'Then detaining that person in that new location further is the second charge,' he said, explaining the hostage charge.

"Davis and Cal said they told the manager they were armed to instill fear, but denied actually carrying any weapons into the store.

"Police have not been able to recover any weapons. However, based on the victim’s testimony, police believe 'there’s no doubt there were weapons,' Rosenberger said.

“'If we had a weapon, where’s it at? I’m not a magician, I can’t make a gun and a knife disappear,'” Cal said, with a laugh."

About 25 minutes into the incident, the store manager was released.

According to the Easy Reader, "When they realized their source for cash was gone, Davis and Cal knew they needed to bolt. But the store was completely surrounded. They were trapped.

"That didn’t stop them from hunting for an escape."

Both men entered not guilty pleas to all charges in court in April. 

According to the Easy Reader, "Davis and Cal were each charged with one count of kidnapping, false imprisonment of a hostage and second-degree robbery. The maximum sentences are eight years, eight years and five years, respectively.

"Cal faces a sentencing enhancement for allegedly using a handgun while committing the crimes, which could add an additional 10 years in state prison for each charge. The enhancement is known as California’s 'use a gun and you’re done' law and is the state’s strictest sentencing enhancement, according to Shouse Law Group, a criminal defense firm. 'The firearm doesn’t need to be loaded or operable to be convicted of this sentencing enhancement,' according to the firm’s website.

"Cal maintained he was not armed.

"Since police weren’t able to recover any weapons, Detective Rosenberger said it could be a challenge to prove weapons were involved. 'Our challenge is we have to convince the jury that a real firearm was being used,'” he said."

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