Jill StewartWhat was Jose Lewis Avila thinking when he pulled some of the creepiest robberies of all time, spotting lone women who were tooling along in their cars in San Gabriel Valley, then following them home and terrorizing and robbing them? That they wouldn't remember his widely noted “pretty eyes” and tell the cops?
Put this one in the stupid criminals file: Avila left extensive evidence during his armed spree in March and April of 2011, including his face on security tapes. What kills here is that Avila tried to cover his face, but a lot of the fashion-forward women and girls he preyed on couldn't help but note his “very unique” eyebrows and eyes. Chalk one up for the cosmetics consultants at Nordstrom.
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Jose Lewis Avila booking photo.; Credit: Courtesy Alhambra Police Department
Today, an Alhambra Superior Court jury is expected to sentence Avila, who faces 250 years to life in prison for nine counts of robbery, one of assault with a deadly weapon, one of dissuading a witness (an incredibly stupid move) and one of child abuse (ditto).
Avila's previous crime portfolio puts him in the running for Los Angeles Stupidest Criminal of the Year, if there is such a competition, In 2005, he was convicted of a very similar crime spree, prompting Los Angeles County prosecutor David Ayvazian to quip, “This is what this guy does.”
Although Avila covered his face during his 2011 crimes, the mostly Asian witnesses in San Gabriel, Monterey Park, Alhambra and Arcadia were able to identify him due to his “very unique” and “pretty” eyes — and dramatic eyebrows, Ayvazian said.
Avila would spot these women in their cars, then sneakily follow them home — one of those nightmare scenarios that lone women dread.
In his first, and boldest, robbery, he robbed a wife and husband as they arrived home together.
Police artist rendering of Jose Lewis Avila.; Credit: Courtesy Alhambra Police Department
And by robbing one woman while she held a child in her arms, Avila managed to bumble his way to a charge of child abuse. That mightily worsened his potential prison sentence.
According to Ayvazian, Avial got hit with the deadly weapon charge when he shot one girl with a BB gun. That happened after the girl heard a disturbance out in front of her house, where Avila was robbing her mom.
Avila was out of control, and police say it's just lucky he wasn't armed with a more serious weapon during his 2011 spree. The guy with the pretty eyes probably would have shot himself in the foot.
See also: The Case of the Bank-Robbing Prostitutes: How a Team of L.A. Hookers Became the “Scarlet Bandits.”
See also: Torrance Robbers Swipe 30 iPhones
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