The Riverside County Sheriff's Department has now arrested a third suspect in the armed robbery of a Palm Desert jewelry store as the hunt continues for a fourth and final suspect.
During the store robbery on June 28, the Sheriff's Department said in a news release, the suspects entered the business and held the owner at gunpoint, then made off with an unspecified quantity of jewelry. The Palm Desert Investigations Bureau assumed the investigation and has worked to identify the four suspects over the last six months. While two suspects were jailed a few months following the armed robbery, the third suspect was nabbed only recently and the fourth has eluded authorities thus far.
According to Sgt. Daniel Milbrandt in a news release from the Sheriff's Department, on Jan. 4, Joshua King was located and arrested in Compton by authorities in that town. Inmate records show that this third suspect, a 27-year-old Compton resident, is being held at the Southwest Detention Center on $1 million bail.
Two other suspects were both arrested on Aug, 9, a few months after the June robbery, which targeted the 111 Jewelry & Watch Repair store located on the 73200 block of Highway 111. These suspects have been identified as Rayjon Thornton, 26, of San Pedro, arrested in Commerce; and Demetrius Thornton, 23, of Colton, arrested in Adelanto.
All three apprehended suspects have been booked into Riverside County jails and are awaiting trial, with King's first appearance set for Jan. 20 at the Indio Larson Justice Center.
As this investigation continues, the Riverside County Sheriff's Department is seeking the public's help in tracking down the fourth suspect, who has been identified as 22-year-old Karina Ortega from Tracy. According to Milbrandt, her "whereabouts are currently unknown." Anyone with information regarding the robbery or Ortega's whereabouts is asked to call Investigator Grasso at 760-836-1600.