Eleven under indictment in jewelry store robbery

An Orange County grand jury has indicted 11 suspects — including nine alleged members of a San Diego criminal street gang — in a crime spree involving the armed robbery of two jewelry stores, including one in Laguna Beach, in addition to alleged identity theft, and street terrorism.

Law enforcement officials allege that, while retrieving a vehicle impounded by Laguna Beach Police after a pursuit of the armed robbery suspects, members of the gang stole mail from Laguna Beach mailboxes.

Most of the stolen property has not been recovered. The Aug. 25 armed robbery at Baca Jewelry store on Forest Avenue all but wiped out the contents of the store, a $1 million loss.

A 20-count indictment was issued Oct. 26 against the defendants, all residents of San Diego County, who face sentences ranging from three years up to 35 years to life in state prison if convicted. The defendants are all scheduled for arraignment Dec. 4. Nine of the 11 suspects are in custody, according to the district attorney’s office.

This case was jointly investigated by the Laguna Beach and Tustin Police Departments and Orange County District Attorney’s Office with assistance from the Orange County and San Diego County Sheriff’s Departments, Chula Vista and Oceanside Police Departments, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

The defendants are: Aida Arroyo, 27; Salvador Barajas, 29; Touradj Barman, 66; Michael Dennis Burgin, 30; Sylvia Elena Castaneda, 28; Jose Jesus Garcia, 35; Pedro Avina Hernandez, 29; Alonso Jose Lopez, 31; Daisy Oregon, 21; Arturo Carlos Perez, 21; and Adam Weick, 28.

At about 7 p.m. Aug. 25, Lopez, Burgin, and Hernandez are accused of entering Baca Jewelers in Laguna Beach as the store was closing. They are accused of dressing in black and attempting to hide their faces by wearing hoods and baseball caps. The defendants are accused of robbing a store employee at gunpoint and stealing more than $1 million in watches and jewelry before fleeing the scene.

Police officers chased the trio from Laguna Beach to Aliso Viejo, where they abandoned their car in an Aliso Viejo parking garage and escaped. Police officers learned that the abandoned vehicle was owned by Castaneda. Castaneda is accused of attempting to impede the police investigation by reporting her car stolen in San Diego County, despite loaning it to Lopez, Burgin, and Hernandez allegedly knowing that it would be used for a jewelry store burglary.