One of two men accused in Coachella Valley, Los Angeles postal robberies arraigned

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ) - One of two men accused of robbing a U.S. Postal Service delivery worker in Palm Desert and possibly perpetrating similar offenses in other locations pleaded not guilty today to second-degree robbery.  

Jose Estevan Chavarria Jr., 28, of Los Angeles was arrested last month along with Luis Alberto Gonzalez, 32, of Victorville following a Riverside County Sheriff's Department investigation, in coordination with other agencies.   

Chavarria was arraigned Monday before Superior Court Judge Dean Benjamini, who scheduled a felony settlement conference for April 16 at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.

Chavarria is being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

Gonzalez is being held on $80,000 bail at the Robert Presley Jail in Riverside. He's also charged with second-degree robbery, but no arraignment date was scheduled as of Monday.

According to sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Cryder, shortly before 11 a.m. on March 24, the pair allegedly confronted a postal carrier in the area of Bertain and Storke drives in Cathedral City.

Cryder alleged one of the defendants brandished what appeared to be a handgun and forced the victim, whose identity was not disclosed, to hand over money and other belongings. It was unclear whether any packages or envelopes were taken.

The victim complied, and the two men allegedly fled, eluding patrol deputies who converged on the location minutes later in response to the mail carrier's 911 call, according to the sergeant.

"During the ensuing investigation, it was determined that several additional robberies and attempted robberies of U.S. Postal Service carriers had occurred in Cathedral City and several cities in Los Angeles County,'' he said.

Working with the USPS's Inspection Service and the District Attorney's Office, investigators turned up leads pointing to Chavarria and Gonzalez as the alleged culprits, Cryder said.

He said the men were located by Burbank Police Department officers on North Third Street in the San Fernando Valley city and taken into custody without incident.

Neither defendant has documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.

It was not immediately known whether additional charges may be filed in connection with the other alleged holdups blamed on the pair.