Indio teen accused in an armed robbery after posing as an Xbox seller
A 19-year-old from Indio was behind bars today for his alleged involvement in posing as the seller of an Xbox gaming console and robbing someone at gunpoint.
The teen was arrested Thursday night on suspicion of robbery, carrying a loaded firearm, conspiracy to commit a crime, possession of controlled substances with a firearm and possession of narcotics for sale, according to inmate records.
Indian Wells deputies met with an unidentified person at 7:52 p.m. Thursday who was robbed at gunpoint, according to Sgt. Travis Mountz from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. It's alleged that the teen met the victim at an unspecified location with two other suspects to sell the gaming console.
Mountz said that when driver received the money, one of the suspects from a rear passenger seat loaded a short-barrel rifle.
"The suspect then pointed the gun at the victim and told him to get out of the vehicle before he shot him in the head,'' Mountz said. "The victim complied and exited the vehicle."
After the suspects fled the scene, deputies found the suspect vehicle at a gas station near the 8400 block of Indio Boulevard, according to Mountz. The 19-year-old was the only occupant of the vehicle.
Deputies from the department's Special Enforcement Team (SET) served a search warrant and allegedly found an illegal short-barrel rifle and narcotics packaged for sale, Mountz said.
The teen was booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where he remains held on $500,000 bail.
The other two suspects were still outstanding, Mountz said.
Anyone with information on the robbery was asked to call Deputy John Mitroff with the department's SET at 760-285-0615.
