Felon Admits Robbery Spree Targeting Restaurants, Shops

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A convicted felon who committed multiple armed robberies in or near Perris pleaded guilty Thursday to six counts of armed robbery, as well as a gun possession charge.

Anthony Sergio Munoz, 28, admitted the allegations under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office that resulted in four of his pending felony cases being consolidated into one and resolved at the same time, according to agency spokesman John Hall. In exchange for Munoz's admissions, prosecutors dropped two counts each of attempted robbery and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Superior Court Judge David Gunn scheduled a sentencing hearing for Feb. 28 at the Riverside Hall of Justice. Munoz is facing 16 years in state prison under the terms of the plea deal.

He's being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.

According to Riverside County Sheriff's Sgt. Curt Harris, the defendant perpetrated four holdups on the same day -- Feb. 14, 2018 -- beginning about 5 p.m. at a Chevron gas station in the 400 block of Redlands Avenue in Perris.

Munoz grabbed a few items, then held the clerk at gunpoint and forced him to empty the cash register, according to the sergeant.

Two hours later, a Jack-in-the-Box in the 19000 block of Harvill Avenue was held up, with the defendant again forcing employees to empty cash drawers, he said.

At 7:45 p.m., Munoz robbed a Subway sandwich shop in a strip mall on Nuevo Road in Perris, using the same method, Harris said. He alleged that 20 minutes later, the convicted felon walked into another Subway at 780 E. Ramona Expressway, taking an undisclosed amount of cash from the register while holding a pistol on employees.

In each instance, the bandit fled in a sedan.

According to Harris, on the afternoon of Feb. 18, Munoz robbed a Metro PCS store in the 29000 block of Nuevo Road in Nuevo, leveling a handgun at the clerk while swiping cash from the register.

Soon afterward, detectives identified the defendant as the holdup man and served an arrest warrant at his residence in the 500 block of Bond Road in Perris. Harris said Munoz attempted to flee the location when deputies arrived, but he was chased down and arrested without further incident.

According to court records, Munoz has a prior conviction for receiving a stolen vehicle.

The defendant's other cases, which ended up being folded into the one stemming from the robberies, were tied to thefts and other robberies in 2016 and 2017, records showed.

— By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock