Final Suspect in 2009 Forest Avenue Jewelry Shop Robbery Faces Trial

Press release from the Orange County District Attorney and Laguna Beach Police Department:

Opening statements begin today against three gang members for their role in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of two Orange County jewelry stores—including on Forest Avenue in downtown Laguna Beach— identity theft, and street terrorism.

• Aida Arroyo, 29, is charged with 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.
• Michael Burgin, 32, is charged with 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. Burgin is the last remaining defendant accused in the Baca robbery.
• Adam Weick, 30, is charged with 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.

This case involved 11 co-defendants, all residents of San Diego County. Eight other co-defendants in this case have been convicted. They are:

• 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, 68, 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, 30, 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.
• 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.

Laguna Beach Robbery

At approximately 7 p.m. on Aug. 25, 2009, Burgin is accused of entering Baca Jewelers in Laguna Beach with Lopez and Hernandez 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 the Laguna Beach Police Department responded and Burgin is accused of leading police on a pursuit with Lopez and Hernandez 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 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 the Laguna Beach Police Department, the Tustin Police Department noticed similarities between the Baca robbery and one that occurred in Tustin several weeks earlier. The agencies began jointly investigating their cases.

Tustin Robbery

At approximately 5 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, 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 Laguna Beach Police. While Castaneda was meeting with Laguna Beach officers, the three other defendants stole 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 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.