Two Shotgun Robbery Suspects Tied to Two More Holdups in Moreno Valley

Two of three men accused of a shotgun robbery Friday in Cabazon and a crime spree that started with a carjacking in Rialto were tied Saturday to two more shotgun holdups in March in Moreno Valley, a sheriff's sergeant said.

Joe John Esparza, 40, of Colton, Richard Angel Suruy, 22, of Los Angeles, and Michael Stephen Vigil, 27, of Apple Valley, were arrested Friday morning on suspicion of an "armed takeover robbery" at the Circle K-Valero gas station next to Interstate 10 near the Main Street ramps, Cabazon Station investigators said.

The three men were also suspects in a carjacking in Rialto on Thursday, and two armed robberies in San Bernardino and Redlands early Friday before the robbery in Cabazon, investigators said.

Esparza, Suruy and Vigil were booked late Friday at Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

The shotgun used in the alleged crimes, held as evidence in Cabazon, was a single-barrel, 12-gauge, pump-action shotgun with a pistol grip, sheriff's Capt. Ross Koepp said in an interview Friday at the Cabazon Station.

Saturday evening, sheriff's Sgt. David Lelevier released a statement saying Esparza and Suruy were positively identified as suspects in two robberies last month in Moreno Valley.

About 9:45 p.m. Saturday March 19, deputies in Moreno Valley responded to a reported armed robbery in the parking lot of the Bank of America at 22900 Centerpoint Drive, Lelevier said.

The victim had withdrawn money from an ATM and was going to have dinner at a local restaurant when he was confronted by a Hispanic man with a shotgun, Lelevier said.

The gunman struck the victim in the face with the butt of the shotgun, and the suspect fled on foot with an undisclosed amount of cash, Lelevier said.

While deputies were investigating the crime, another robbery was reported about 20 minutes later at the parking lot of a business in the 24800 block of Sunnymead Boulevard, Lelevier said.

The suspects were described as two Hispanic men with shotguns, who approached the victims as they were changing a tire on their vehicle.

One of the suspects kicked one of the victims to the ground and demanded his personal property, Lelevier said. The suspects took an undisclosed amount of cash, a cell phone, a major league baseball team cap, and fled.

After Esparza, Suruy and Vigil were arrested Friday morning in Cabazon, Moreno Valley detectives went to Cabazon and positively identified Esparza and Suruy as the suspects in the two March robberies in Moreno Valley. Detectives from Rialto, San Bernardino and Redlands police departments were also in Cabazon on Friday, Koepp said.

Esparza and Vigil were held Saturday on $1 million bail each, and Suruy was held without bail, according to inmate records.

Esparza and Suruy will be charged with two additional counts of armed robbery, Lelevier said.

At least one of the three suspects may have been involved in similar armed robberies on March 3 in Ontario and Rialto, Cabazon investigators said.

Esparza is on active parole for a prior carjacking conviction, Vigil was recently discharged from parole for a prior assault with a deadly weapon conviction, and Suruy has prior convictions for felony grand theft, as well as an active felony warrant for his arrest for grand theft, investigators said.

"It was clear just based on what occurred from early this morning 'til today that they were on a violent crime spree," Koepp said in an interview Friday.

"Looking at some of the other cases we're tying them to in San Bernardino County, the similarities of the aggressiveness of some of the robberies, the threatening of the victims and the brandishing of the shotgun and even striking some of the victims with the shotgun, it's a very violent group," Koepp said.

Anyone with further information about any of these incidents was urged to contact Cabazon Station detectives at (951) 922-7100, Moreno Valley police at (951) 247-8700, or the sheriff's department at 1 (800) 955-2444.