San Diego Gang Bangers Convicted in OC Jewelry Robberies

January 10, 2012

THREE SAN DIEGO GANG MEMBERS CONVICTED OF CRIME SPREE ROBBERIES IN TWO ORANGE COUNTY JEWELRY STORES *Eight co-defendants have also been convicted in this case

WESTMINSTER - Three gang members have been convicted for their role in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of two Orange County jewelry stores, identity theft, and street terrorism. Two of the defendants were found guilty by a jury Jan. 9, 2012, and the third defendant pleaded guilty mid-trial. All three are scheduled to be sentenced April 20, 2012, in Department W-18, West Justice Center, Westminster.

 

Aida Arroyo, 29, pleaded guilty mid-jury trial on Jan. 5, 2012, to one felony count each of second degree robbery, second degree commercial burglary, and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and the vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member. She faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison.

Michael Burgin, 32, was convicted of one felony count each of second degree robbery, second degree commercial burglary, and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity, the vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member, and two prior strike convictions for first degree burglaries in 1999 and 2002. He faces a maximum sentence of 70 years to life in state prison.

 

Adam Weick, 30, was convicted of one felony count each of second degree robbery, second degree commercial burglary, and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity, the vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member, and a prior strike for kidnapping in 2005. He faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in state prison.

This case involved 11 co-defendants, all residents of San Diego County, and was jointly investigated by the Laguna Beach Police Department (LBPD), Tustin Police Department (TPD) and Orange County District Attorney's Office with assistance from the Orange County and San Diego County Sheriff's Departments, Chula Vista and Oceanside Police Departments, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Co-Defendants

Salvador Barajas, 31, pleaded guilty Feb. 5, 2010, to one felony count each of receiving stolen property and street terrorism and was sentenced to 225 days in jail and three years of probation.

Touradj Barman, 69, pleaded guilty March 19, 2010, to one misdemeanor count of a pawnbroker failing to report receipt of property and was sentenced to one year of probation and a $10,000 payment to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund.

Sylvia Elena Castaneda, 31, pleaded guilty June 20, 2011, to one felony count of second degree robbery with a sentencing enhancement for criminal street gang activity and was sentenced to five years in state prison.

Jose Jesus Garcia, 37, pleaded guilty March 26, 2010, to one misdemeanor count of a pawnbroker failing to report receipt of property and was sentenced to one year of probation and a $10,000 payment to the Victim Witness Emergency Fund.

Pedro Avina Hernandez, 31, was found guilty by a jury Feb. 2, 2010, of one felony count each of second degree robbery, second degree commercial burglary, and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and the vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member. He is expected to be sentenced Jan. 27, 2012, in Department C-40, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

Alonso Jose Lopez, 33, was found guilty by a jury May 20, 2010, of one felony count each of second degree robbery, second degree commercial burglary, and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and the vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member. He has a prior strike conviction for kidnapping in 1998, Lopez was sentenced July 23, 2010, to 25 years in state prison.

Daisy Oregon, 23, pleaded guilty Feb. 5, 2010, to one felony count each of receiving stolen property and street terrorism with a sentencing enhancement for criminal street gang activity. She has a prior strike for robbery in 2005. Oregon was sentenced to two years and eight months in state prison.

Arturo Carlos Perez, 23, pleaded guilty July 9, 2010, to one felony count each of accessory after the fact and street terrorism with a sentencing enhancement for criminal street gang activity. He was sentenced to two years in state prison.

Tustin Robbery

At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2009, Arroyo entered Tustin Village Jewelers under the pretense of selling a ring. The jewelry store has security gates and the defendant was buzzed in. While negotiating a price with the store owner, Arroyo asked to be let out of the store to make a phone call. When the owner buzzed the security gate to let Arroyo out, Burgin and Weick immediately rushed in to the store wearing caps and bandanas. They were armed with firearms and demanded at gunpoint that the victim unlock the jewelry cases to give them access to the diamonds.

 

One of the defendants held a gun to the back of the victim's head and threatened to shoot him if he did not open the safe. The defendants then duct-taped the victim and put him in the bathroom. Burgin, Weick, and Arroyo stole over $160,000 in jewelry and fled the scene.

Laguna Beach Robbery

At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2009, Burgin, Lopez, and Hernandez entered Baca Jewelers in Laguna Beach as the store was closing. They were dressed in black and attempted to hide their faces by wearing hoods and baseball caps. The defendants robbed a store employee at gun-point and stole over $1 million in watches and jewelry before fleeing the scene.

Officers from LBPD responded and Burgin, Lopez, and Hernandez led police on a pursuit from Laguna Beach to Aliso Viejo. The defendants abandoned their car in an Aliso Viejo parking garage and evaded police by fleeing. LBPD officers learned that the abandoned vehicle was owned by Castaneda. Castaneda attempted to impede the police investigation by reporting her car stolen in San Diego County, despite loaning it to Lopez, Burgin, and Hernandez knowing that it would be used for a jewelry store burglary.

Perez assisted Lopez evade arrest and hide in an Oceanside home by acting as a look-out to determine if police were surveiling the home and obtaining a calling card for Lopez to make phone calls without detection. Based on a law enforcement bulletin put out by LBPD, TPD noticed similarities between the two robberies and the agencies began jointly investigating their cases.

Identity Theft and Receiving Stolen Property On Sept. 8, 2009, Barajas drove Castaneda, Oregon and Arroyo to Laguna Beach to pick up Castaneda's car, which had been abandoned after the Aug. 25, 2009, robbery and impounded by LBPD. While Castaneda was meeting with LBPD, the three other defendants stole mail from local Laguna Beach mail boxes. Arroyo was in possession of and fraudulently using credit cards, which had been stolen in San Diego County the day before.

Subsequent investigation into the robberies revealed that two second-hand jewelry stores in San Diego County, San Diego Jewelry and Loan and J&L Jewelers, were selling some of the stolen jewelry. Garcia attempted to make identifying the stolen jewelry more difficult by grinding off identifying markings. Barman purchased the property, knowing it had been stolen.

All of the defendants, except for Barman and Garcia, are members or associates of a San Diego Hispanic criminal street gang. They planned and committed these crimes to benefit their criminal street gang.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson of the Gang Unit is prosecuting this case.

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