Felony charges were filed Jan. 12 against two men in connection with multiple robberies at local businesses, according to the Long Beach Police Department (LBPD).
On Jan. 10, detectives had arrested 34-year-old Cody Joel Ibershoff of Long Beach and 51-year-old Jesus Cortez of Compton for their involvement in commercial robberies. Pursuant to the arrests, detectives served a search warrant at their respective residences and recovered three replica firearms, one shotgun and other evidence related to the robberies, police said.
Between Nov. 24, 2017 and Jan. 3, the suspects armed with handguns entered several businesses between the hours of 8pm and 11:30pm, demanded money from employees and fled the scene with cash before officers arrived, according to the LBPD. No employees or victims were injured during the robberies.
The dates and locations the incidents occurred were:
• Nov. 24, 2017— 1400 block of E. Pacific Coast Highway
• Dec. 16, 2017— 3400 block of Long Beach Boulevard
• Dec. 18, 2017 — 3100 block of East Broadway
• Jan. 3, 2018— 2600 block of Bellflower Boulevard
• Jan. 3, 2018— 4400 block of East Broadway
Throughout the investigation, detectives uncovered similarities in each of the robberies that led them to identify the suspects. On Jan. 12, the case was presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, which filed 11 felony counts of robbery against Ibershoff and Cortez. The former is being held on $635,000 bail, and Cortez is being held on $1.65 million bail. Both defendants are being held at the Los Angeles County Jail.
Detectives urge any commercial business employee who was a victim of a robbery to call LBPD Lead Robbery Detective Mora at (562) 570-5536. Anonymous tips may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), downloading the “P3 Tips” app to a smart phone or visiting LACrimeStoppers.org.
Source: LBPD
