Torrance police seek ATM robber who beat teenage girl with baseball bat – The Daily Breeze

Police are trying to identify a robber who beat a teenage girl with a baseball bat and forced her to withdraw $500 from a Torrance bank.

During the assault, the man told the girl he needed the money to feed his family, Torrance police Sgt. Ronald Harris said.

The robbery occurred about 10 p.m. Nov. 9 outside the Chase Bank branch on Torrance Boulevard near Arlington Avenue.

The girl was using the teller machine to make a deposit when the man approached her from behind. He stood waiting and suddenly pulled a baseball bat from inside his jacket.

He then hit her in the head with what was believed to be an aluminum bat, Harris said.

“She falls to the ground,” he said. “He hits her with the bat a couple more times and forces her to withdraw money from the ATM.”

The man jumped into a sport utility vehicle driven by someone else and escaped. The vehicle was believed to be an early 2000s Suzuki X17.

Harris said the man hit the girl hard enough to injure her. She sought treatment on her own.

Detectives tried to identify the man through security photos, but were unsuccessful. On Wednesday, the investigators released the photos and a sketch of the man in the hope someone can identify him. He was described as Latino, in his 20s, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing about 220 pounds. He had a thin mustache and a buzzcut hairstyle. He wore an Addidas cap..

Police asked anyone with information about the man to call Torrance detectives at 310-618-5709.