CANOGA PARK : 2 Men Face Trial in String of Robberies

Two Canoga Park men were ordered Tuesday to stand trial in connection with a string of robberies of supermarkets and pizza delivery drivers in the west San Fernando Valley.

Police said D.J. Cekic, 19, and Dietrich O’Neal, 20, were part of a gang that held up seven markets and three pizza deliverers between April 18 and June 1. The cases of three juveniles charged in the spree have been referred to juvenile court, police said.

Prosecutors said the group typically ordered a pizza delivered to an address on a dark street and robbed the driver at gunpoint, taking the delivery car to use as a getaway vehicle in the market robberies.

After a two-day preliminary hearing, Judge Gregg Marcus ruled there was sufficient evidence to try Cekic on 10 robbery counts and O’Neal on seven robbery counts.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Jeffrey S. Gootman said that if convicted on all counts, Cekic could be imprisoned for 31 years and O’Neal for 21 years, eight months.