Aida Arroyo, 29, Michael Burgin, 32, and Adam Weick, 30, were found guilty by a jury on all counts after 2 1/2 days of deliberations, according to the court clerk. They are scheduled to be sentenced April 20.
The three were the last of 11 defendants to be convicted. Arroyo went to Tustin Village Jewelers about 5 p.m. on Aug. 4, 2009, pretending to sell a ring, according to the Orange County District Attorney's Office. He was buzzed in by security and when he asked to be let out of the shop to make a telephone call, Burgin and Weick burst in and robbed the store at gunpoint, according to prosecutors. They forced an employee to open a safe and then tied him up and put him in the bathroom as they stole more than $160,000 in valuables, according to prosecutors.
Burgin robbed Joshi & Baca Jewelers in Laguna Beach on Aug. 25, 2009 with Alonso Jose Lopez, 33, and Pedro Avina Hernandez, 31. Hernandez, who was convicted Feb. 2, 2010, of robbery and gang charges, is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 27. Lopez, who was also convicted in May 2010 of robbery and gang charges, was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
In the Laguna Beach heist, the robbers stole more than $1 million in valuables before leading police on a wild chase that ended in Aliso Viejo, where they escaped. Lopez was arrested a couple of days later after another high-speed chase. All but two of the defendants belonged to the Vista Home Boys street gang near San Diego, according to prosecutors.
There was no immediate response to messages left with Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson, who prosecuted all 11, seeking comment.
-- City News Service