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LOS ANGELES (CNS) - Felony charges were filed Friday against three men suspected in a robbery in Palm Desert, in Riverside County, earlier this month, and two of them were charged for also allegedly carrying out a pair of residential burglaries.
Los Angeles residents Mason Barron, 21, and 24-year-old Raymond Garcia were charged along with Byron Lee, 19, of Compton with one felony count each of robbery, grand theft over $950 and organized retail theft, according to court records. Barron, who was also charged with two felony counts each of robbery, grand theft over $950 and organized retail theft, also faces two felony counts of burglary along with Lee.
The three suspects are set to be arraigned on the charges Friday afternoon at the Larson Justice Center in Indio.
Deputies with the Palm Desert sheriff's station were assisted in searching four warrants in Los Angeles Oct. 18 by the Los Angeles Retail crime Task Force, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the Office of Correctional Safety Fugitive Team, according to Sgt. Rovann Cleveland of the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
"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 subsequently arrested and booked into the John J. Benoit Detention Center in Indio, where Garcia and Barron remain held on a $2.5 million bail bond while Lee remains held on a $240,000 bail bond, according to inmate records.
Barron has previously pleaded guilty to grand theft over $950 and has an 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 has previously pleaded guilty to a felony count of burglary and Lee has 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.