BEVERLY HILLS─Shots were fired in Beverly Hills on Saturday, January 11, after an armed robbery transpired near a Rite Aid establishment located on the 300 block of North Canon Drive.
Authorities responded to a report of an armed robbery at 5:35 p.m., where the suspect who has been identified as Aaron Christopher Newsom, 23, of Los Angeles robbed another man at gunpoint outside of the establishment. The suspect displayed a firearm and demanded the victim’s property. Sometime during his attempt to escape, the suspect fired at least one round from the firearm.
Helicopters scoured the area for hours as officers from the Beverly Hills Police Department searched for the suspect.
There were no reports of any injuries sustained to the victim or any police officers during the incident. Multiple businesses were placed on lockdown in the busy shopping region as authorities searched for the suspect.
Newsom was spotted inside a retail business by authorities on the 200 block of N. Beverly, which promoted the suspect to flee the scene. He discarded the firearm by throwing it inside a men’s clothing store, before running into an alley where he hid out from authorities. The Santa Monica Police Department assisted the BHPD in locating the suspect by utilizing canine dogs.
Newsom was found hiding in the alley where he was later arrested and taken into police custody. The search for the suspect lasted over 3 hours, where police taped block off various streets preventing people in the area from re-entering the Rite Aid during their investigation.
The suspect was located in the 200-block of north Beverly/Canon alley at approx. 8:30 p.m. and safely taken into custody.
The victim, during the robbery had jewelry in his possession taken by the suspect. Authorities confiscated a weapon used by the suspect during the attempted robbery.
Canyon News reached out to Lt. Elisabeth Albanese of the BHPD for additional comment, but did not hear back before print. Newsom is being charged with assault with a semiautomatic firearm (a felony), robbery (a felony) and possession of a firearm by a felon (also a felony).
