Two people were hospitalized after a broad daylight armed robbery on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills Sunday, police confirmed to KTLA.  

Officers with the Beverly Hills Police Department responded to the 400 block of North Rodeo Drive, at the intersection of Brighton Way just before 1:30 p.m. on reports of the incident.  

According to a BHPD news release, a man and a woman were waiting outside a boutique when they were approached by four suspects, one of whom pulled out a gun during a physical altercation between the victims and the suspects.  

“During the altercation, the suspects forcibly took two designer handbags – one from each victim – containing cash and cellphones,” police said. “One cellphone was recovered nearby. The suspects also attempted to steal the male victim’s jewelry but were unsuccessful.”  

In video of a portion of the incident obtained by KTLA, four suspects all wearing dark clothing and hooded sweatshirts can be seen running from the scene. At least one of the suspects has an item, possibly one of the handbags, in his hands.  

The crew was last seen running up Rodeo Drive and ducking into an alleyway. 

It is unclear if anyone was injured, but the male victim was seen on the ground as the victim and another person knelt over him, one of which was yelling for help.  

Medical personnel with the Beverly Hills Fire Department responded to the incident, but authorities said the man and woman sought their own medical attention at a local hospital.

Their conditions were not immediately available.

An investigation into the robbery remains ongoing and anyone with information is urged to contact BHPD at 310-285-2125. Those wishing to remain anonymous can call the L.A. Regional Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-222-8477 or leave tips online at www.lacrimestoppers.com.  

Authorities in Los Angeles County are searching for a teenage girl they say could be at risk.

According to the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, 13-year-old Aleah Ashley Salgado was last seen at 11 p.m. Friday night on the 3000 block of East Avenue H-2 in Lancaster.

Authorities say her family is concerned for her well being.

Salgado was described as Hispanic, 5-foot-4 and 120 pounds, with long black wavy hair and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing a black T-shirt, grey sweatpants and black shoes.

Anyone with information about this incident is encouraged to contact the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Lancaster Station at 661-948-8466.

A Santa Clarita man was charged with dealing a drug three times more powerful than fentanyl, causing one fatal overdose, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Arraigned on Wednesday, Benjamin Anthony Collins, 21, was charged with one count of distribution of protonitazene that resulted in what the DOJ says could be the nation’s first death-resulting criminal case involving this narcotic.

The indictment alleges Collins knowingly and intentionally dealt protonitazene to a victim in the early morning hours of April 19, 2024. The DOJ only identified the victim as a 22-year-old man from Stevenson Ranch.

The Los Angeles Times reports that hours before his death, the victim called Collins asking for Percocet pills, and Collins sold him five oxycodone pills for $20 each. 

Also included in the L.A. Times’ report was a recount of text messages between the two before the drug deal that were shown in court documents: “I need real Perc’s tho…. Cuz my boy just died…. I get worried,” texted the victim. 

According to the report, Collins responded by saying, “yeah bro same with my best friend bro. He just died 3 days ago. Off fake pills.” He also then said, “those fake Perc’s get you . . I test all my [expletive] … negative evry time.”

Soon after the deal, the DOJ says the 22-year-old took the pills in the front seat of his car and quickly died. His mother found him parked outside her home and called 911, officials say.

“In recent years, protonitazene has been sold over the internet and is believed to be several times more powerful than fentanyl, which itself is 50 times stronger than heroin,” the DOJ wrote in a statement released Thursday.

According to the World Health Organization, protonitazene and other “nitazenes” were first synthesized in the late 1950s as “novel opioid alternatives to morphine,” but were soon abandoned and never approved for medical use.

The DOJ says Collins, in addition to giving the victim the pills that ended his life, had planned on also selling him a bulk supply of the same drugs in the future.

Collins was arrested on Monday, Nov. 18, and he pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. He is scheduled for a trial date in January, and meanwhile is being held without bail.

If convicted, Collins would face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.