Two Indio robbery suspects charged following officer-involved shooting
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced Tuesday two suspects were arrested in relation to an officer-involved shooting Friday night at a hotel in Indio.
According to a news release by ATF, Manuel Luna, 20, of Corona and Matthew Hetrick, 21, of Klamath
Falls, Oregon were planning on robbing the Best Western Date Tree Hotel on Indio Boulevard at around 9:45 p.m.
ATF said the pair were under surveillance by ATF agents and detectives from the Irvine, Fullerton and Brea Police Departments for their roles in a series armed robberies and attempted robberies that occurred in Orange County between February 11, 2019 and March 13, 2019. No other information has been released on those crimes.
According to a criminal complaint, agents saw Luna and Hetrick park near the hotel, then Luna ran into the hotel’s lobby wearing a black ski mask, hooded sweatshirt, camouflage pants, and tactical gloves. Inside the lobby, Luna brandished what appeared to be a silver handgun and directed employees towards the cash registers. 30 seconds later, Luna ran from the lobby with the weapon in hand running directly towards agents.
The complaint reveals that agents then confronted Luna and directed him to stop running and drop his weapon. Luna was shot by agents after failing to drop his weapon.
Investigators later determined the weapon was a replica. No officers were injured in the incident.
According to the complaint, law enforcement immediately rendered medical aid to Luna. He was hospitalized in unknown condition, authorities have not revealed his current condition.
Around the same time, authorities attempted to arrest Hetrick while he was in the getaway car. Hetrick tried to flee but crashed his car into a police pick-up truck. Hetrick was taken into custody without incident.
According to ATF, Luna and Hetrick are in the custody of U.S. Marshals. They were charged in the United States District Court in Santa Ana with conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery. If convicted, they both face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison on the Hobbs Act Robbery charge.
The charges against Luna and Hetrick were the result of an investigation conducted by the ATF, with assistance from the Irvine Police Department, the Brea Police Department, the Fullerton Police Department, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, the Santa Ana Police Department and the Buena Park Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Scott Tenley.
Stay with News Channel 3 for any updates.
