Police Arrest 2 Men in Pizzeria Robbery

Two men have been arrested in connection with the second of two armed robberies at a Ventura pizzeria last week.

Both were being held in Ventura County Jail on Saturday, awaiting arraignment on robbery and criminal conspiracy charges in connection with a robbery Thursday afternoon at Hungry Howie’s Pizza at 1504 E. Thompson Blvd., authorities said.

The earlier robbers, three men who used handguns and shotguns during a heist Wednesday night at the pizzeria, are still at large, officers said.

A security camera video helped officers identify the suspects in Thursday’s robbery.

After the tape was shown to Ventura police on Friday morning during a briefing, Officer Tom Mendez identified the gunman as a 22-year-old Santa Paula man, said Sgt. George Morris.

Police showed the pizza clerk a photo lineup, and the clerk identified the Santa Paula man, Johnny Lopez, as the robber, Morris said.

That night, at 10:45, officers stopped a car in the Ventura Avenue area after a witness said a man in the car had brandished a handgun at two juveniles.

Officers ordered the three men out of the car at gunpoint, and a witness identified one of the occupants, Lopez, as the person who had brandished the gun, Morris said.

Mendez then arrived on the scene and recognized Lopez and another of the vehicle’s occupants, 25-year-old Richard Apodaca of Santa Paula, as the men in the pizza store video, Morris said.

Lopez is being held on two counts of robbery and criminal conspiracy, according to a jail spokeswoman. His bail was set at $200,000.

Apodaca is being held on the same counts. His bail was set at $50,000.

Arraignment for both men is scheduled for Tuesday.

Police arrested the third man in the car, 18-year-old Freddy Tafoya of Santa Paula, on outstanding warrants. He is being held in county jail on $2,000 bail, according to authorities.