The man who robbed the Hustler Casino in Gardena in August of this year has been arrested for a “series of armed robberies in parking lots in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including one incident in which he shot a victim twice outside the South Coast Plaza shopping mall in Costa Mesa,” the Justice Department announced on Thursday, December 5.
The man arrested is Oshae Pollard, 21, of the Manchester Square neighborhood of Los Angeles, and he has been charged with interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and use of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was arrested on Wednesday, December 4. He has already made his initial appearance in United States District Court in Santa Ana.
“The violence alleged in this complaint shocks the conscience,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is essential that we hold perpetrators of violence accountable for victimizing our community. My office – through the Operation Safe Cities initiative – is collaborating with local law enforcement and using powerful federal tools to target the worst offenders of violent gun crime.”
According to the affidavit, Pollard targeted people in parking lots through Southern California in August and September.
“The first robbery occurred late at night on August 25, 2024, at the Hustler Casino parking lot in Gardena, where Pollard ran toward the victim and pushed her to the ground,” according to a statement by the Justice Department. “The victim held onto her purse and yelled for help. Pollard began pulling on the victim’s purse and pulled out a black semi-automatic pistol, placed it into the victim’s mouth – breaking her teeth in the process – and said, ‘If you yell again, I’ll kill you.’ A witness began yelling and Pollard grabbed the victim’s purse – stealing between $1,000 and $2,000 – retreated to a car and drove away.”
A few days later, Pollard robbed a taxi driver at a Winchell’s Donut House in Carson. “Late night on the same day, Pollard and an accomplice approached two victims standing near their Rolls-Royce and Ferrari vehicles in the parking lot of the Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach. Pollard pointed a semi-automatic pistol at the victim standing near the Rolls-Royce and demanded all the victim’s cash,” reads the statement.
On September 22, he shot a man in the thigh as he was robbing him in the parking lot of the South Coast Plaza shopping mall in Costa Mesa. The victim survived the injuries.
“Reducing violent crime in our community and throughout our country is a priority of the ATF,” said ATF Los Angeles Field Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Bombardiere. “I could not be more pleased with the outcome of this investigation by the ATF Orange County Violent Crime Task Force. Cases like this highlight the importance of authentic relationships between law enforcement agencies to keep our communities safe. This arrest illustrates the task force’s unrelenting resolve to hold accountable anyone who engages in violent criminal activity.”
“These are crimes of violence that not only terrorize the intended targets, but our community as a whole, making shoppers think twice about whether a trip to the mall will erupt in gunfire,” said Kimberly Edds, Director of Public Affairs for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. “As a result of the unrelenting pursuit of justice by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, this arrest continues to send a strong message that crime doesn’t pay in Orange County.”
If convicted of all charges, Pollard would face a statutory maximum sentence of life in federal prison.
