San Diego criminal street gang members
indicted for Laguna Beach and other OC
Jewelry store robberies
Grand jury transcripts were unsealed
today charging eleven defendants,
including nine members of a San Diego
criminal street gang, for their role in
a crime spree involving the armed
robbery of two Orange County jewelry
stores, identity theft, and street
terrorism. A 20-count indictment was
issued Oct. 26, 2009, against 11
defendants, all residents of San Diego
County, who face sentences ranging from
three years up to 35 years to life in
state prison if convicted. The
defendants are all scheduled for
arraignment Dec. 4, 2009, at 8:30 a.m.
in Department C-5, Central Justice
Center, Santa Ana. Lopez is scheduled
for a pre-trial at that time.
This case was jointly investigated by
the Laguna Beach (LBPD) and Tustin
Police Departments (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.
Laguna Beach Robbery
At approximately 7:00 p.m. on Aug. 25,
2009, Lopez, Burgin, and Hernandez are
accused of entering Baca Jewelers in
Laguna Beach as the store was closing.
They are accused of dressing in black
and attempting to hide their faces by
wearing hoods and baseball caps. The
defendants are accused of robbing a
store employee at gun-point and stealing
over $1 million in watches and jewelry
before fleeing the scene.
Officers from LBPD responded and Lopez,
Burgin, and Hernandez are accused of
leading police on a pursuit from Laguna
Beach to Aliso Viejo. The defendants are
accused of abandoning their car in an
Aliso Viejo parking garage and evading
police by fleeing. LBPD officers learned
that the abandoned vehicle was owned by
Castaneda. Castaneda is accused of
attempting 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 is accused of assisting 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.
Tustin Robbery
At approximately 5:00 p.m. on Aug. 4,
2009, Arroyo is accused of entering
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 is accused of asking 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
are accused of immediately rushing in to
the store wearing caps and bandanas.
They are accused of being armed with
firearms and demanding at gunpoint that
the victim unlock the jewelry cases to
give them access to the diamonds.
One of the defendants is accused of
holding a gun to the back of the
victim’s head and threatening to shoot
him if he did not open the safe. The
defendants are accused of then
duct-taping the victim and putting him
in the bathroom. Burgin, Weick, and
Arroyo are accused of stealing over
$160,000 in jewelry and fleeing the
scene.
Identity Theft and Receiving Stolen
Property
On Sept. 8, 2009, Castaneda is accused
of being driven with Oregon and Arroyo
to Laguna Beach by Barajas to pick up
her 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
are accused of stealing mail from local
Laguna Beach mail boxes. Arroyo is
accused of being 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 is accused of attempting to make
identifying the stolen jewelry more
difficult by grinding off identifying
markings. Barman is accused of
purchasing the property, knowing it had
been stolen.
All of the defendants, except for Barman
and Garcia, are accused of being members
or associates of a San Diego Hispanic
criminal street gang. They are accused
of planning and committing these crimes
to benefit their criminal street gang.
The majority of the stolen property has
not been recovered and there is an
ongoing investigation to determine
whether the defendants were involved in
other robberies of Orange and San Diego
County jewelry stores.
Anyone with additional information is
encouraged to contact Tustin Police
Detective James Monsoor at (714)
573-3192, Laguna Beach Police Detective
Debra Kelso at (949) 497-0371, or
Supervising District Attorney
Investigator Hector Pantoja at (714)
347-8844. Senior Deputy District
Attorney Jim Mendelson of the Gang Unit
is prosecuting this case.
DEFENDANT NAME
AGE
CHARGES
BAIL
Aida Arroyo
27
1 felony count each of second degree
vehicle burglary, second degree robbery,
identity theft, forging an access
cardholder’s signature, receiving stolen
property, acquiring access card account
information
2 felony counts of second degree
commercial burglary
3 felony counts of street terrorism
Sentencing enhancements for criminal
street gang activity and vicarious use
of a firearm by a gang member
$250,000
in custody
Salvador Barajas
29
1 felony count each of receiving stolen
property and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancement for criminal
street gang activity
$75,000
in custody
Touradj Barman
66
1 felony count of receiving stolen
property
$20,000
out of custody
Michael Dennis Burgin
30
1 felony count each of second degree
robbery, second degree commercial
burglary, and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancements for criminal
street gang activity and vicarious use
of a firearm by a gang member
2 prior strike convictions for first
degree burglaries in 1999 and 2002
$1 million
in custody
Sylvia Elena Castaneda
28
2 felony counts of street terrorism
1 felony count each of second degree
robbery and accessory after the fact
Sentencing enhancements for criminal
street gang activity and vicarious use
of a firearm by a gang member
$1 million
in custody
Jose Jesus Garcia
35
1 felony count of receiving stolen
property
$20,000
out of custody
Pedro Avina Hernandez
29
1 felony count each of second degree
robbery, second degree commercial
burglary, and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancements for criminal
street gang activity and vicarious use
of a firearm by a gang member
$1 million
in custody
Alonso Jose Lopez
31
1 felony count each of second degree
robbery, second degree commercial
burglary, and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancements for criminal
street gang activity and vicarious use
of a firearm by a gang member
1 prior strike conviction for kidnapping
in 1998
$1 million
in custody
Daisy Oregon
21
1 felony count each of receiving stolen
property and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancement for criminal
street gang activity
1 prior strike for robbery in 2005
$75,000
in custody
Arturo Carlos Perez
21
1 felony count each of accessory after
the fact and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancement for criminal
street gang activity
$100,000
in custody
Adam Weick
28
1 felony count each of second degree
robbery, second degree commercial
burglary, and street terrorism
Sentencing enhancements for criminal
street gang activity and vicarious use
of a firearm by a gang member
1 prior strike for kidnapping in 2005
$200,000
in custody
Click here for related article:
Robbers
escape with $600000 in jewels from
Laguna Beach store
