Charges filed against two women suspected in Palm Desert smash-and-grab robbery with four men
Felony charges were filed today against two women who allegedly took part in a smash-and-grab robbery with four men at a Palm Desert jewelry store last month.
Destiny Unique Baca, 18, of San Bernardino, and 24-year-old Los Angeles resident Analea Paradise Miller were charged in two separate cases with one felony count each of robbery, organized retail theft with intent to sell, and grand theft of over $950, according to court records.
They were set to be arraigned on the charges Monday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Also suspected in the robbery are Los Angeles residents Julian Hermosillo, 18, Mason Barron, 21, and Raymond Garcia, 24, with Byron Lee, 19, of Compton. All were charged with grand theft over $950 and organized retail theft, according to court records. Hermosillo, Garcia and Lee were charged with an additional felony count each of robbery. Barron faces two more felony counts each of robbery, grand theft over $950, organized retail theft, and burglary.
They all pleaded not guilty to their respective charges, Hermosillo earlier this month and the other three in October.
Deputies with the Palm Desert sheriff's station were assisted on Oct. 18 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 Riverside County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Rovann Cleveland.
"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. Hermosillo was subsequently identified as a fourth suspect in the robbery.
On Nov. 1, 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. At the conclusion of the warrants being served, Hermosillo was arrested.
Baca and Miller were identified as suspects Nov. 8 and were arrested after members of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department served search warrants in the 600 block of West Eighth Street in San Bernardino and in the 9700 block of Budlong Avenue in Los Angeles, Cleveland said.
They were both booked into the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning, where they remain held in lieu of $2.5 million bail, according to inmate records.
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 nearly $2.6 million bail, Garcia and Hermosillo on nearly $2.5 million and Lee on $310,000.
Barron previously pleaded guilty to grand theft over $950 and has another 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, Lee, Baca, and Miller 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.
