MALIBU—Metro publicly honored maintenance worker Lawrence Spears for stopping an attempted robbery. On June 4 at around 9:30 a.m., Spears stopped a violent assault on a woman at the Willowbrook Green Line station who refused to give her purse to a thief.
Andre Byrant, 20, allegedly hit the woman repeatedly on her head when she would not give up her purse. Spears saw the aggressor as he was working nearby, and tackled him. A sheriff deputy was also near the area and spotted the attack. Bryant fought back against Spears, attracting more attention to the scene.
Bryant allegedly attacked another victim minutes before he was stopped by Spears, on an eastbound green line train. When a man attempted to get off at the Willowbrook station and retrieve his bicycle, Bryant hit him in the head causing injury.
The deputy that appeared on the scene was able to take Bryant into custody. The woman that was almost robbed declined medical assistance, but Spears, Bryant, and the man with a head injury were taken to a nearby hospital.
The new Metro CEO, Phil Washington, commented on Spears’s act of bravery stating, “this is seeing something and doing something.”
Bryant was booked at Lynwood for suspicion of battery on a transit employee/patron, attempted robbery, and assault likely to result in bodily harm.
