Synonyms of stickups

Juan Carlos Thola Duran, 59, admitted Monday to leading a scheme that enabled organized theft crews with a majority traveling from South America to help carry out burglaries, retail thefts and fraud in Southern California and across multiple states, according to federal prosecutors.

The incident marks yet another in what has been a string of more than a dozen break-ins and burglaries targeting homes throughout the San Fernando Valley, notably in Studio City, Sylmar, Sherman Oaks, Valley Glen and North Hollywood, among other neighborhoods in the area.