The Antelope Valley Times

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Second suspect arrested in robberies of three restaurants

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Lee Vance McQuilkin

LANCASTER – The second of two men accused of robbing three Lancaster restaurants at gunpoint within a two-hour span has been captured.

Lee Vance McQuilkin was arrested at 2:45 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 20) at a residence in the 13100 Block of Bromount Avenue in Sylmar, according to the Los Angeles County Jail.

The 27-year-old was wanted on a $300,000 felony warrant in connection with the armed robberies of Little Caesars, Wienerschnitzel and Subway, which occurred on Sunday, June 10.

The three robberies happened between 7 and 9 p.m. In each case, two men walked into the restaurant, held the employees at gunpoint, demanded money from the register and then escaped on foot. Read more here.

McQuilkin, along with 28-year-old Damon Banks, were identified as suspects in the robberies through a combination of “surveillance video and good old police work,” according to Lancaster Station spokesman Michael Rust.

On June 22, McQuilkin and Banks were each charged with five counts of robbery, and a $300,000 felony warrant was issued for each man’s arrest.

Photos of the men, along with their physical descriptions, were placed on a Most Wanted list, which was distributed to local media on June 25.

Banks turned himself in to the Lancaster Station on July 3, and pleaded not guilty to all charges on July 5. Banks’ family members have long professed his innocence and believe the incident is a case of mistaken identity. Read more here.

Banks was ordered to stand trial on August 6, and his case is still pending trial.

Most recently, McQuilkin was profiled on the Lancaster Station’s ‘Most Wanted’ list on September 5.

Following his arrest in Slymar Thursday, McQuilkin was booked at the Lancaster Station at 6:20 p.m. on $300,000 bail.

UPDATED: McQuilkin has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is due back in court on Oct. 2 for a preliminary hearing on the case.

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10 comments for "Second suspect arrested in robberies of three restaurants"

  1. look i know lee and people make bad mistakes but he is a good person in heart. thats no reason to be talking stuff and people that u dont know what they’ve been through. the world makes it to where u have to do stuff like that because theres no jobs at all and they have us turning into savages just to live.i watched im apply to so many jobs and he got a little work here and there but not enough to LIVE. dont get me wrong im not saying he was right but damn its going be alot worse if people cant get jobs or provide for there family or self at the rate this is going it will be a all out war. no one cares about the law they pick and choose who to help them people thank them wow. sum are good and sum are bad. where were u guys when my mom got raped cut up and killed. did you guys get the guys NO.. i hope he gets out soon.. please dont talk about him like he some dog thats what he not.

    • Krystal. There is NO excuse for him to be robbing places. Sure the economy is not very good right now, but really, did he ever have a real job? ummmm, my guess is no. He’s one of those entitled kids that thinks he doesn’t have to work and will take what he wants from whom ever. It will either get a guy killed or put in jail. Lack of jobs is NO reason to be running around WITH a gun robbing people and if you think it is then you have a bigger problem than you realize…or we have a bigger problem…

  2. That’s what I feel like telling the white punks in my neighborhood everyday!! I wish you would come through some time. You would be an easy mark for them, because you stupidly think only black people commit crime. When they kick the [removed] out of you like they did that mexican guy for his iphone the other day, then maybe you will think different.

    You have an open invitation to come down to 90th and Wood. Let me know when dropping by so I can tell them to expect you. ASS!!!

  3. With all of the money L.A. County has invested in law enforcement and related technology, criminals are foolish to try to pull anything here and stick around.

    • You could have cut out the beginning and end of your sentence and just went with:

      “criminals are foolish”

  4. I just wonder wut he gonna say to the judge? I bet he be like
    “yo arner, wudnt me!! Y’all just racist an always blamen da black guy!!!
    So he gets out of jail an most likely commit the same crime!!!