Hollister
– A man suspected of being part of a home invasion robbery
earlier this month – during which three Hollister residents were
threatened with a pistol – was arrested early Friday morning in
Nevada about 14 hours after the alleged robbery.
Hollister – A man suspected of being part of a home invasion robbery earlier this month – during which three Hollister residents were threatened with a pistol – was arrested early Friday morning in Nevada about 14 hours after the alleged robbery.
The suspect, described by police as a 24-year-old Hispanic male, is believed to have been one of two or three men involved in a home invasion robbery in Hollister Thursday and a “strikingly similar” Los Banos robbery the day before, said Hollister Police Sgt. Carlos Reynoso.
The suspect has given law enforcement officials several different names, and police are waiting on fingerprint results before identifying him. After the first robbery last Wednesday, Los Banos police sent out a statewide notice for the suspect and his vehicle along with a license plate number, Reynoso said.
Police officers in Reno, Nev., arrested the suspect after running his license plate number through a criminal database. Then, working with officials from the Hollister Police Department and the Los Banos Police Department, Reno officials were able to positively identify him, according to Reynoso.
Reno police also found items stolen during the Hollister robbery in the man’s car, said Hollister Public Information Officer Rosie Betanio. Law enforcement officials from Reno, Hollister and Los Banos are working with the San Benito County District Attorney’s office to prepare for the man’s extradition to California and to find additional suspects believed to have been involved in the brief crime spree.
San Benito County District Attorney John Sarsfield said the extradition process would be “very simple” and could take less than a week to complete. However, he said the suspect could face multiple felony charges in Washoe, Merced and San Benito counties. Sarsfield said it wouldn’t matter which county tried the suspect first.
“It doesn’t matter. We’ll get him sooner or later,” he said. “So long as he’s locked up, it really won’t matter.”
While one suspect has been caught, Hollister police are still investigating the case.
“This arrest is very fortunate for everyone involved,” Betanio said. “But there are still other suspects out there.”
The man arrested in Reno is believed to be one of two men who broke into a Hollister home in the 100 block of McCray Street shortly after 2pm on Thursday, Betanio said. The two men entered the home and pointed a black, semi-automatic pistol at two Hollister teenagers, who had been playing video games at the time. The suspects ordered the teens to “go into the bedroom and don’t make any noise,” Betanio said. The teens went into the bedroom while the suspects rifled through drawers, stealing about $2,200 worth of jewelry and $900 in cash.
Shortly after the initial break-in, an aunt of one of the teens came home, entering through the back door. Police have not identified the victims because they are minors. The suspects ordered the aunt, also not identified, to tell them were she kept her jewelry. After she told them she didn’t have any jewelry, the suspects fled in a burgundy Honda sedan.
The suspect could face charges of armed robbery, Sarsfield said. If convicted of armed robbery, he could face up to 15 years in state prison, according to the California Penal Code.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
