HOLLYWOOD, CA — An 18-year-old woman was attacked from behind, knocked unconscious and robbed of a gold chain inside a Hollywood 7-Eleven just after midnight on Saturday, Aug. 30, as surveillance cameras recorded the entire assault, and two suspects remain at large more than a week later.
Destiny Valderrama had spent the evening at a quinceañera with friends before stopping at the convenience store near the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Las Palmas Avenue for snacks. What followed, she says, was a targeted ambush that left her unconscious on the store floor, her two friends beaten while trying to help, and the chain she had worn since her baptism stolen. The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the robbery is an active investigation, and as of the first week of September no arrests had been made. The case has drawn attention not only for the violence captured on video but for what Valderrama says happened — and did not happen — inside the store as she begged for help.
According to Valderrama, she and two friends walked through the front door of the 7-Eleven at 6702 Hollywood Blvd. just after midnight. She says surveillance footage shows two people crossing the street behind them and entering the store within seconds. She never made it past the ATM. “Right there where it says ATM inside, right in that hallway was when I got tackled and I started getting strangled and I took hits on the ground,” Valderrama told FOX 11. She said she felt her hair grabbed from behind before she was pulled to the ground. The attackers, she said, gave no warning and made no verbal demand. “No, I was just like, I just felt somebody kind of grab the back of my hair and just like pull me down,” she said. She was strangled and struck in the head while on the floor. She does not know how long she was unconscious. When she regained awareness, her friends — who had tried to intervene — were also badly hurt. One had been dragged across the floor; the other had been struck into the snack aisles. Nothing was taken from either friend. The only item the attackers stole was the gold chain and pendant Valderrama was wearing.
Valderrama’s mother, Elizabeth Ortiz, went to the store the following day and obtained the surveillance recordings. Ortiz said the footage shows the attackers initially attempted to strangle her daughter with the chain itself to pull it free, but the chain was too thick to break that way. Speaking in Spanish, Ortiz described watching the video: she said to imagine being a parent and seeing footage of your own child’s head being slammed into the floor until she falls unconscious. Valderrama suffered bruising to her neck, arms and elbows. She told reporters she had no prior contact or dispute with either suspect before the attack. LAPD confirmed two suspects were involved in a robbery inside a business in the 6700 block of Hollywood Boulevard, that both fled the scene, and that the investigation remains open. As of the first week of September, detectives had not publicly released physical descriptions of the suspects or stated whether they fled on foot or in a vehicle. A spokesperson confirmed the case falls under the jurisdiction of LAPD’s Hollywood Division.
The attack carries significant legal weight regardless of the dollar value of the stolen jewelry. Under California Penal Code Section 211, robbery is defined as taking property from a person against their will through force or fear. Legal analysts note that any physical force during a theft — including pulling someone’s hair or pushing them to the ground — elevates the crime to felony robbery, regardless of the value of what was taken. California’s Proposition 47 set a $950 threshold for felony property theft, but that threshold does not apply when force is used. Second-degree robbery, which covers most street and store robberies, carries a potential state prison sentence of two, three or five years. The stolen chain held personal significance well beyond its monetary worth. “It was my baptism chain. I had it since I was a baby,” Valderrama said. “I don’t even know the value of it.” The case is being handled by LAPD’s Hollywood Community Police Station, which patrols a 17.2-square-mile area covering Hollywood, the Hollywood Hills and surrounding neighborhoods.
The assault did not occur in an empty store. Valderrama says the 7-Eleven was open, had customers present and had at least one employee on duty when she was attacked. After she regained consciousness, she says she repeatedly asked store employees to call police and to serve as witnesses to what had happened. “I kept begging like please call the cops, please call the cops, because I knew that he served as a witness, so I was asking if he could be a part of the report, and he was just saying no,” she told ABC7. She says the group was then told to leave. “They kicked us out of the store. They said we were causing a disturbance to the rest of the customers,” she told FOX 11. “All I wanted was a phone call. You know, I understand if they were scared to step in, but I just wanted them to call the police.” She also said that when her group called police themselves that night, officers did not arrive. She filed a report with LAPD after the fact. ABC7 and FOX 11 both reached out to 7-Eleven corporate and to the store manager; neither received a response. LAPD said it received the report and confirmed the investigation is ongoing.
The Hollywood Boulevard attack is part of a documented pattern of violent incidents at Southern California 7-Eleven locations. In October 2024, franchise owners and company officials held a public conference in Los Angeles calling for stricter safety measures after a series of thefts and violent incidents against store employees. In May 2025, LAPD’s Robbery-Homicide Division arrested a 28-year-old suspect following an investigation into a string of armed robberies targeting 7-Eleven stores across Los Angeles and South Gate. Separately, a North Hollywood getaway driver was linked to a multi-city robbery crew that targeted nine 7-Eleven stores across Los Angeles and Orange counties. Despite those incidents, citywide robbery numbers in Los Angeles actually declined in 2025, falling from 8,637 recorded robberies in 2024 to 7,213, according to LAPD CompStat data. Homicides also dropped 19 percent in 2025 compared to the prior year, reaching their lowest total since 1966. Still, late-night convenience stores remain frequent sites for violent encounters even as broader crime metrics trend downward.
More than a week after the attack, Valderrama said she still cannot watch the full video of what happened to her. “It feels like I’m reliving it all over again,” she said. “I still haven’t been able to fully watch the footage myself.” She said the experience left her shaken in ways that go beyond the physical injuries. “I honestly didn’t think I was going to get home that night. Like, I really thought it was just going to be it for me right there on that ground,” she said, standing outside the store where the assault occurred. She said she hopes someone who sees the surveillance images will recognize the two suspects. “I hope somebody can recognize them,” she said. “I really hope so. Like, I really, really do hope that they find them. I don’t want anyone to ever experience that. I want the police to do something about it.” A second-year student at Cal State University Dominguez Hills, Valderrama said she shared her story publicly specifically to prompt tips from the community. Her mother echoed that call, urging anyone with information to come forward.
The investigation remains open with no suspects in custody. LAPD’s Hollywood Division is asking anyone who recognizes the individuals in the surveillance footage to call detectives at 213-972-2971. Investigators have not announced a timeline for additional updates or said whether the case has been connected to any wider pattern of robberies targeting convenience stores in the area.
I wonder whether the store employee is afraid of ICE himself.
There is no excuse for the behavior of the store staff on duty, and they should be fired with cause. They were not even asked to do anything particularly heroic, and kicking the girls out of the store was inexcusable, given what they had experienced. Store management needs to stop stonewalling this incident.