Irvine : 3 Arrested in Armed Robbery, Shooting
Three men described by police as transients have been arrested in connection with an attempted holdup last month in which robbers broke into a house and shot the man who lived there.
Juan Carlos Johnston, 23, Ismael Roriguez, 18, and Sergio Mendoza Ramos, 20, were seized Thursday by Los Angeles police who were investigating a traffic accident on Pacific Coast Highway in Wilmington.
Irvine Police Sgt. Dick Boman said the three men were arrested after officers discovered two handguns and a large quantity of jewelry in their car, which matched the description of one seen fleeing from the attempted robbery in Irvine on May 29.
In that incident, Boman said, three men broke into the home of Michael and Theresa Pfeifer as the couple were sitting down to dinner and demanded money.
Pfeifer, 35, suffered a minor gunshot wound in the foot during a struggle with one of the men. His wife, 32, was uninjured, according to Boman.
After the shooting, the assailants fled. A neighbor of the Pfeifers was able to provide investigators with a description of their car and its license plate number, Boman said.
Johnston, Rodriguez and Ramos were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery and were being held in lieu of $50,000 bail each.
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