SoCal Highway Robber At Large: Crew Ambushed Driver On 110 Freeway

LOS ANGELES, CA — A South Gate man who admitted committing more than a dozen armed robberies targeting people leaving local casinos with winnings is on the run, and a federal judge Thursday delayed sentencing until he is found, officials said.

Dereck Nathan Lopez, 22, pleaded guilty June 4 in Los Angeles federal court to a single count of interference with commerce by robbery.

The judge had granted Lopez's unopposed application for temporary release pending sentencing. Lopez agreed to a prison sentence of 14 years, according to court filings.

While awaiting sentencing, Lopez agreed to wear a GPS location monitoring device and live at his mother's home, promising not to leave the premises "so that he does not pose a risk of flight or danger to the community," according to papers filed June 3 by his attorney, Richard Raynor.

At a hearing Thursday, U.S. District Judge George Wu deferred ruling on Lopez's breach of his plea agreement and delayed sentencing until the defendant can be located and returned to custody, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Raynor did not immediately answer a request for comment.

A co-defendant, Juan Gabriel Gonzalez, 23, also of South Gate, pleaded guilty to the same charge in June and is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

The 10-count indictment states that between May and December 2023, Lopez and Gonzalez entered the Hustler Casino, Parkwest Bicycle Casino and Commerce Casino & Hotel under false names to hunt gamblers appearing to win or cash in a large number of chips.

Lopez, Gonzalez and others then followed the victims' vehicles from the casinos, ambushed them on the highway, brandished firearms, smashed the vehicles' windows, demanded money or chips and fled, prosecutors said.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Lopez, Gonzalez and associates robbed and attempted to rob individuals leaving casinos on at least 12 occasions, including three on a single night. They took a total of at least $274,000 in cash, casino chips and other property.

In October 2023, the defendants followed a victim around the Hustler Casino in Gardena, watching as the man cashed out $11,000 in chips and left the casino. As the victim drove home on the Harbor (110) Freeway on-ramp from Redondo Beach Boulevard, the defendants stopped the man's car, pointed a gun at him and robbed him, prosecutors said.

Before another incident, Lopez is seen on casino surveillance video celebrating a gambling victory with a victim he was scouting, including high-fiving the woman after the win, according to court documents.

Within an hour, Lopez's co-conspirators had blocked her vehicle, brandished firearms and stolen $21,000 in cash. In a separate incident, Lopez, Gonzalez and co-conspirators stole at least $130,000 in casino winnings from someone else, federal prosecutors stated.

Officials said Lopez was in possession of three firearms and more than 30 rounds of ammunition found at his home in December 2023. Lopez is not legally permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition because his criminal history includes a conviction in San Bernardino Superior Court for grand theft in November 2023 during the robbery spree, prosecutors said.

By Fred Shuster, City News Service