Two Foreign Nationals Arrested for Series of Armed Robberies at SoCal Stores

The Ronald Reagan Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., on May 28, 2010. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)

Two illegal immigrants were arrested by federal agents under suspicion of conducting a series of armed robberies at eight Southern California convenience stores this year, according to the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney’s Office.

The alleged robbery spree started Jan. 11 and included stores in Buena Park, Cypress, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Pomona, Newport Beach, Agoura Hills, and Gardena, according to a press release.

The pair, along with co-conspirators, allegedly stole about $13,950 in cash and $7,415 in merchandise.

Jesus Soto-Parada, 26, of El Salvador, was charged Aug. 5 in an eight-count federal grand jury indictment.

Federal prosecutors say Soto-Parada was deported to El Salvador during the robbery spree but later returned to the United States to continue robbing stores. He was found by law enforcement in South Los Angeles and is scheduled to begin his trial on Sept. 24.

The indictment alleges he and Daniel Pavon, 20, a Honduran national who lives in Gardena, about 15 miles south of Los Angeles, and other suspects entered convenience stores wearing surgical masks.

One suspect would allegedly brandish a firearm at the clerks while stealing money, according to federal prosecutors, while the other served as a lookout.

Pavon is in state custody awaiting transfer to federal custody to face charges.

According to the indictment filed June 26, law enforcement located the suspects during a traffic stop in Gardena on June 13.

During the stop and the resulting arrest of Soto-Parada and Pavon, officers found cash, a box of blue medical face masks, a tracking device, a black replica semiautomatic handgun, and two long-sleeved black hooded sweatshirts, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

A clerk from a Gardena store that was robbed was brought to the scene of the traffic stop and allegedly identified Soto-Parada and Pavon as the robbers, saying they were wearing the hooded sweatshirts during the incident, prosecutors reported.

“These defendants’ alleged violent crime spree has now earned them federal criminal charges carrying major potential prison time,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada in a statement Monday.

If convicted, Soto-Parada and Pavon face a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count.