Suspects Arrested in Armed Robbery Spree 

January 20, 2024 - Riverside County Sheriff’s Office officials report that on November 19, 2023, at 5:34 p.m., deputies from the Lake Mathews Sheriff’s Station were dispatched to the 17000 block of McAllister Street Riverside regarding a robbery at gunpoint. The Lake Mathews Sheriff’s Station Special Enforcement Team (LMSET) assumed the investigation.

During the investigation, the LMSET learned of five similar robberies that occurred in the city of Riverside. Through a collaborative investigative effort with the Riverside Police Department Robbery / Homicide Unit, deputies obtained a description of the suspect vehicle. With this information, deputies were able to connect the vehicle with four additional armed robberies that occurred in the city of Perris. With the added assistance of the Perris Sheriff’s Station Robbery / Burglary Suppression Team, the suspects were identified as Edgar Menchaca Martinez, a 31-year-old, and Arturo Romero, a 28-year-old (both pictured below), both residents of Perris.

On January 18, 2024, the LMSET, Riverside Police Department Robbery / Homicide Unit, and Perris Sheriff’s Station Robbery / Burglary Suppression Team authored and served search warrants in the cities of Perris and Fullerton. Both suspects were taken into custody without incident. During the service of the search warrants, numerous items of evidentiary value were located linking Menchaca Martinez and Romero to the armed robberies. Menchaca Martinez and Romero were booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center for robbery and additional felony charges. This investigation is ongoing, and no additional details are available.

The joint investigation between the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office and the Riverside Police Department Robbery / Homicide Unit yielded a positive result. It prevented Menchaca Martinez and Romero from continuing to place fear in our communities and put a stop to their robbery spree.

Anyone with information on these incidents is asked to contact Lake Mathews Station Special Enforcement Team Deputy Robert Staggs at 951-272-5600 or Riverside County Sheriff Dispatch at 951-776-1099. Additionally, anyone with additional information in the city of Riverside is asked to contact Riverside Police Detective William McGuigan at (951) 353-7103.

Reporting Deputy: Sergeant Jason Gore

File # Multiple

Source & photos: Riverside County Sheriff’s Office