Woman suspected in robbery near Thousand Palms pleads not guilty
A 33-year-old woman suspected with two others in a robbery that started in Rancho Mirage, where a person was lured into a vehicle, driven away, and robbed, pleaded not guilty today to felony charges.
Lucero Barraza Cagno of Indio was charged with one felony count each of robbery, receiving a stolen vehicle, taking a vehicle without the owner's consent and possessing a leaded cane, according to court records. She pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Nicholas Tyler Young, 31, of Palm Springs, the alleged driver in the robbery, was charged and pleaded not guilty Aug. 8 to one felony count of robbery, according to court records. His next court appearance is set for Sept. 19.
Deputies from the Palm Desert sheriff's station responded July 29 to a report of a robbery in an unincorporated area of Riverside County near Thousand Palms, according to Sgt. Jeff Cryder of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
It's alleged that a woman, who was at an establishment in the 32200 block of Bob Hope Drive, contacted the victim, who was subsequently lured into a vehicle in the parking lot, Cryder said. When the victim got inside the vehicle, two other suspects were also in the vehicle, which was driven off with the victim still inside.
"After driving the victim to the area of Ramon Road and Thousand Palms Canyon Road, the driver of the vehicle brandished a black semi-automatic handgun and demanded all the victim's belongings,'' Cryder wrote in a statement.
The driver was described as a man with various tattoos covering his head and body while the other two suspects were described as two women, one in her 30s and one in her 40s, according to Cryder. Young was arrested Aug. 2 after being identified as the suspect driver, Cagno was arrested Wednesday after being identified as one of the women who lured the victim, and the other woman remained at large.
The Rancho Mirage Special Enforcement Team arrested Young during a traffic stop in the 68000 block of Ramon Road and Cagno in an unspecified area in Coachella.
According to court records, Young remains held at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside without bail and Cagno remains held at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning on $35,000 bail.
Anyone with additional information on the robbery was asked to call Deputy Paull with the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station at 760-578-4275.
