Palm Desert deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, with help from Desert Hot Springs, apprehended a 17-year-old local male for alleged armed robbery of an iPhone on Friday.
According to a news release by the Riverside County Sheriff's Department's Sgt. Travis Mountz, the victim, who reported the crime at 12:06 p.m., told deputies that the two parties were meeting up to sell the iPhone. However, the teen instead brandished a handgun from his waistband and stole the cell phone.
Although the teen managed to flee the scene in a black four-door Chrysler, deputies utilized surveillance cameras to identify the car.
Then a description was broadcast to neighboring law enforcement, which led Desert Hot Springs Police Department (DHSPD) to locate the getaway car at 3:15 p.m. near the 66800 block of Flora Avenue at a Desert Hot Springs home and detain the suspect.
DHSPD had been keeping the suspect's home and car under surveillance while awaiting the arrival of Palm Desert deputies and noticed the suspect leaving the house. The investigation was then continued by deputies from Palm Desert Patrol, the Palm Desert Special Enforcement Team and Palm Desert Business District Team.
The robbery victim made a positive identification of the suspect who lived at that location. Meanwhile, a search warrant issued by DHSPD was executed for the car and home, leading deputies to discover not only the iPhone, but a loaded handgun along with several magazines, unserialized gun parts used to manufacture or assemble firearms, and various caliber bullets.
As a result of this investigation, the 17-year-old was booked into a juvenile facility on multiple charges, including robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and weapons violations.
Gustavo Corona, a 35-year-old who also lived at the residence, was arrested on a misdemeanor warrant and booked into the John Benoit Detention Center.
The department asks anyone with additional information regarding this case to call Deputy Pulido at the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station at 760-836-1600.