Felon Who Committed Holdups, Carjacked Woman Sentenced

BANNING, CA — A convicted felon who carried out multiple armed robberies and separately carjacked a Hemet woman outside a gym, then led police on a brief chase, was sentenced Monday to 25 years in state prison.

Anthony Miguel Screws, 32, of Hemet pleaded guilty last month to robbery and a sentence-enhancing allegation of using a gun in the commission of a felony. In exchange for his admissions, the Riverside County District Attorney's Office dropped a carjacking charge, as well as five robbery counts and one count of eluding law enforcement.

Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson certified the terms of the plea agreement and imposed the sentence stipulated by the prosecution and defense.

Screws will have to serve roughly 19 years behind bars before he's eligible for parole.

According to court documents, the defendant began committing holdups on Oct. 23, 2017, when he robbed a Hemet resident of an undisclosed amount of money.

A week later, Screws robbed a man at gunpoint outside a business, and nine days later robbed a woman in Hemet, prosecutors said.

On Nov. 14, the convicted felon robbed another woman on a street, then robbed a couple walking nearby.

None of the victims were identified.

About 8:30 p.m. on Nov. 14, the probationer walked to the LA Fitness at 220 North Sanderson Ave., where he confronted a woman, identified only as "V.O.," who was about to get into her vehicle in the parking lot. Lt. Eddie Pust said Screws threatened her and brandished a semiautomatic handgun, demanding the keys to her vehicle, which she immediately surrendered.

As officers were responding to the carjacking call, a patrolman spotted the stolen vehicle on a nearby street and initiated a traffic stop. Screws accelerated away from the officer, who called for backup, triggering a pursuit heading westbound into an unincorporated area of the county, according to the lieutenant.

When Screws reached the intersection of Benton and Winchester roads, he bailed out of the car while it was still in motion and tried to run away, but officers quickly apprehended him. The vehicle idled to a stop without causing property damage.

After interviewing the defendant and searching his possessions, detectives determined that Screws was the perpetrator of the armed robberies, Pust said.

According to court records, the defendant had a prior conviction for robbery and was sentenced to three years probation in September 2017.

— By City News Service