October 30, 2021 - Los Banos, CA – On October 27, 2021, deputies with the Merced County Sheriff’s Office responded to a reported robbery at the Shell Station located in the area of Nees Avenue and I-5. At approximately 7:00 A.M. a Hispanic male subject, later identified as 38-year-old Anthony Angel Torres, walked into the shell station with a handgun and demanded the cashier hand over all the cash from the register. Torres took an unknown amount of cash and sped off in a white-colored Ford Escape.
Detective Diane Rentfrow was called out to the scene and began reviewing surveillance footage and collecting evidence. During the investigation, Detective Rentfrow worked with the Los Banos Police Department and the Gilroy Police Department and was able to identify Torres as the suspect in several different robberies including a recent robbery in the city of Los Banos. Torres was also out on bail regarding a recent robbery that occurred on September 15, 2021, in the county of Merced.
Later in the day, the Los Banos Police Department located Torres and the vehicle and attempted to make a vehicle stop. However, Torres failed to stop, and the Los Banos Police Department pursued Torres out into the county area where he crashed into a canal ending the pursuit. Torres was treated for minor injuries from crashing into the canal and later booked into the Merced County Jail on several felony charges.
