1 of 4 LA area men charged in Palm Desert jewelry store robbery pleads not guilty
An 18-year-old man suspected with three others in a jewelry store robbery in Palm Desert last month pleaded not guilty today to felony charges.
Julian Hermosillo, 18, of Los Angeles was charged with one felony count each of robbery, organized retail theft, and grand theft of over $950, according to court records. He pleaded not guilty to all charges Friday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Also suspected in the robbery are Los Angeles residents Mason Barron, 21, and Raymond Garcia, 24, and Byron Lee, 19, of Compton. All were charged with grand theft over $950 and organized retail theft, according to court records. Garcia and Lee were also charged with one felony count each of robbery, while Barron was charged two felony counts each of robbery, grand theft over $950 and organized retail theft, and also faces a pair of felony counts of burglary.
The three suspects were charged separately and pleaded not guilty to the charges in October.
On Oct. 18, deputies with the Palm Desert sheriff's station were assisted by the Los Angeles Retail crime Task Force, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Office of Correctional Safety Fugitive Team, in serving four search warrants in Los Angeles, according to Sgt. Rovann Cleveland of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"The search warrants stemmed from an extensive investigation into a robbery that occurred on Oct. 5, resulting in a significant loss of high-value merchandise from a business in Palm Desert,'' Cleveland wrote in a statement.
"During the investigation, members of the Riverside Sheriff's Office developed leads and located evidence that helped identify the suspects associated with the robbery and two residential burglaries."
Garcia, Barron and Lee were all arrested Oct. 18 in different areas within Los Angeles County.
On Wednesday, Hermosillo was identified as a suspect and arrested after the San Bernardino Sheriff's Office Special Enforcement Division assisted members of the Riverside Sheriff's Office in serving a search warrant in the 2500 block of Macy Street in San Bernardino and the 800 block of 99th Street in Los Angeles, according to Cleveland.
Garcia, Barron and Lee were booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio and Hermosillo into the Southwest Detention Center in Murrieta, according to inmate records. Barron was being held on a $2,588,000 bail bond, Garcia and Hermosillo on $2,490,000 bonds, and Lee on a $310,000 bond.
Barron has previously pleaded guilty to grand theft over $950 and has an active case, in which he's suspected with a woman and two juveniles of robbing a jewelry store at the Palm Desert mall in July, according to court records.
Garcia previously pleaded guilty to a felony count of burglary while Hermosillo and Lee had no prior felony convictions in Riverside County.
Anyone with information on the robbery and burglaries was asked to call Investigator Grasso with the Palm Desert sheriff's station at 760-836-1600.
