Countywide : 4 Arrested in String of Armed Robberies

Orange County sheriff’s deputies have arrested four men suspected of committing a series of armed robberies in South County.

Six businesses, all drugstores or restaurants, were robbed by four gunmen between Aug. 18 and Sept. 1. The assailants usually arrived at closing time and ordered employees to lie on the floor while they looted cash registers, Sheriff’s Lt. Dick Olson said.

Arrested in connection with the robberies were Pedro Mendoza, 19, and Mauricio Melara, 21, both of Laguna Niguel. They are being held at Orange County Jail on suspicion of robbery in lieu of $200,000 and $100,000 bail, respectively.

Mendoza and Melara were arrested without incident Thursday morning in an apartment they share in Laguna Niguel, Olson said.

Rocael Amilcar Alvarez, 21, and a 17-year-old boy, who were already in custody in connection with unrelated cases, were also believed to be part of the ring.

Alvarez is being held at Orange County Jail in lieu of $200,000 bail. He was arrested by Irvine police on Oct. 10 on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, exhibiting a firearm and shooting into an uninhabited dwelling.

The 17-year-old is in custody in Los Angeles County. Both suspects are expected to be charged with the robberies, Olson said.