Five suspects arrested for Santa Cruz armed robbery
UPDATE: 6/25/2018 4:38 p.m. A Santa Cruz County resident was shot in the head Saturday evening after being robbed by a group of five suspects.
It happened in the parking lot at 701 West Cliff Drive.
The 50 – year-old victim was approached by five suspects who demanded his property.
After a fight, the victim was struck multiple times by each of the suspects.
During that altercation one of them fired at the victim.
After witness reported the incident the suspect vehicle, a silver BMW, was found traveling south on Highway 1 and Chestnut Street.
The vehicle was stopped in the Harvey West area and 5 suspects 18 – 23 years old were detained.
SCPD identified and arrested 19-year-old Bryce Bertao of Watsonville, 21-year-old Juan Escobar of Castroville, 23-year-old Roberto Ramirez of Watsonville, 19-year-old De’marian Strong of Salinas and 22-year-old John Zarate of Freedom.
Some of the victim’s stolen property was found inside the suspect vehicle and returned to him.
The victim was treated at the scene by the Santa Cruz Fire Department and AMR, and transported to a local hospital. His injuries do not appear to be life threatening.
California Highway Patrol, Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office, Scotts Valley Police Department, Santa Cruz County Gang Task Force, Santa Cruz Fire Department and AMR were all involved in the incident.
