Trio Connected To String Of IE Armed Robberies: RCSD

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — Three men suspected of perpetrating a string of armed robberies throughout the Inland Empire were behind bars Tuesday.

Deepak Deepak, 22, and Malik Ritav, 20, both of Jurupa Valley, along with a 24-year-old man identified only as "Sunny," were arrested and booked Monday into the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta on suspicion of robbery.

Deepak was being held in lieu of $120,000 bail, but bond requirements for his alleged cohorts couldn't be confirmed Tuesday.

According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the trio perpetrated holdups in Ontario, Perris and Riverside beginning in September.

In the predawn hours of Sept. 22, the suspects burst into a convenience store on Case Road in Perris wearing masks, with at least one of the men brandishing a handgun, Sgt. Brad Thompson alleged.

He said that after forcing the clerk to empty the cash register, the suspects raced away in a vehicle.

"During the course of the investigation, (detectives) discovered the same suspects were involved with three other armed robberies," Thompson said.

One of the holdups occurred in an unincorporated area of Perris, another within the Riverside city limits and the third in the city of Ontario, according to the sergeant. Specific dates were not disclosed, nor were the circumstances.

No one was injured.

Investigators tracked the men to a residence on Flagstaff Drive in Jurupa Valley, where they were taken into custody without incident Monday night.

"Additional evidence was found," Thompson said.

Background information on the trio was unavailable.