San Jacinto Robbery Possibly Linked to Murrieta, Temecula

A crime in San Jacinto matches the description of numerous Temecula and Murrieta robberies.

The crime happened Tuesday around 7 p.m. at Juice It Up, 1211 North State St. when a man walked in wearing a bandana covering part of his face. He pulled out a black handgun and ordered the only employee working there to get into the backroom, according to Riverside County sheriff’s Sgt. Stephen Mike.

The man then grabbed cash from the register and left. Nobody was hurt and no customers were in the store when it happened, Mike said in a report.

Witnesses described the suspect as a Hispanic man about 5-feet-10-inches tall weighing 145 to 175 pounds in his mid-twenties. He wore a black hooded sweater, a black T-shirt, white shorts, shoes and socks pulled up to his knees, according to the sergeant.

This crime and suspect match the description of several others robberies in Riverside County starting in December and stretching from La Quinta to Temecula.

Two  stores in Murrieta were robbed before the San Jacinto location in a similar way by a similar suspect. The location at 27890 Clinton Keith Road was robbed around 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 20. The same location was robbed – likely by the same suspect – on Feb. 27, according to police and sheriff’s officials.

A day before the latter Juice It Up robbery, a hit a sandwich shop at 40315 Winchester Road around 6 p.m.

Though the suspect’s description and methods were very similar, it does not necessarily mean the suspect is the same man, said Riverside County sheriff’s Deputy Herlinda Valenzuela. “There could be copycat suspects, also.”

Several beauty salons and supply shops were robbed by suspects matching the description using a similar routine. The California Cuts at 25050 Hancock Ave. was robbed around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 7, salon at 29910 Murrieta Hot Springs was at 6 p.m. Feb. 12, the beauty supply shop at 39825 Alta Murrieta Dr. was hit at 6 p.m. March 2 and salon around 7 p.m. Saturday.

Several other robberies match the description, including one on Jan. 18 at Yog-N Shop, a frozen yogurt shop, at 40444 Murrieta Hot Springs Rd. and one at Pet Stop, a Murrieta pet shop, at 40477 Murrieta Hot Springs Road around 6:15 p.m. on Feb. 25.

All these robberies had several things in common. Each happened around sunset – the robberies happening before the time change on March 11 were around 6 or 6:30 p.m., and the robberies afterwards were around 7 p.m.

All the robberies in Murrieta and Temecula locations happened at shops near Interstate 215 until south of the interchange, where they were near Interstate 15.

In each case, only one or two employees were in the store – or at least appeared to be from outside the shop. He forced the employees into the backroom at gunpoint and then robbed the register, sheriff’s officials said.

In each case, the suspect was identified as a Hispanic man in his mid-twenties to mid-thirties, about 5 feet,10 inches tall with a medium build wearing a black hooded sweater and wielding a black handgun.

Sheriff’s officials asked anybody with information to call 951-791-3405.