Two Arrested for Robbery and Package Thefts
Irvine, CA – The Irvine Police Department (IPD) arrested two men for robbing a woman in a parking lot and committing a series of package thefts. The suspects are identified as Raymundo Bernal and Gerardo DeLoera, both 22 of Costa Mesa.
On March 11, 2016, a package theft occurred in front of an Irvine home. The resident had a video surveillance system that captured a unique green Jeep with a blue ladder on top, and the resident provided the video to IPD. The IPD Crime Analysis Unit provided a description of the incident and vehicle to all Department officers.
On the afternoon of April 7, 2016, an adult female was loading groceries into her vehicle in a parking lot at Alton Parkway and Culver Drive. The victim was approached by DeLoera, who was holding an airsoft replica handgun. The suspect demanded the victim’s purse and then fled the immediate area on foot. The victim went into the grocery store to call 911 and report the robbery, and was approached shortly thereafter by an employee who had located her cell phone in the parking lot.
Responding IPD officers carefully reviewed surveillance footage from the grocery store and a neighboring business and observed a green Jeep with a blue ladder on top leave the area at the same time the robbery occurred. The victim described the vehicle to officers. The officers recognized the vehicle as matching the one from the March package theft.
On the morning of April 13, 2016, an IPD officer was patrolling on Sand Canyon Avenue and observed a green Jeep with a blue ladder on top. Recognizing that this vehicle matched the description from the armed robbery several days earlier, he conducted a car stop. DeLoera and Bernal were contacted in the vehicle.
Based on the contact and investigation, it was determined that DeLoera robbed the woman in the parking lot and Bernal was the get-away driver. In the vehicle, they were found to be in possession of two BB guns, methamphetamine and a methamphetamine pipe. Both suspects were also linked to package thefts in Irvine. They were arrested at the scene.
This arrest was the result of a great partnership between a community member who provided high-quality video footage, the IPD Crime Analysis Unit and IPD officers.
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