2 Men, 2 Youths Held in Armed Robbery

Two Oxnard men and two boys were in custody Friday on suspicion of using a shotgun to steal three cases of beer.

James Taylor, 24, Gilbert Espinosa, 19, and the two youths were arrested Thursday about 7:45 p.m. after Oxnard police officers spotted them running from a 7-Eleven store on East Pleasant Valley Road, a police spokesman said.

Police said officers watched the four run from the store with the beer, jump into a car and then speed away. The officers chased the car, which stopped on Hamilton Avenue long enough for three of the passengers to jump out. The car continued another block before stopping, according to authorities.

Officers arrested the driver and then tracked down the other three suspects, the spokesman said. A loaded shotgun was found near one of them, he said.

All were arrested on suspicion of armed robbery. The two youths were booked into the county’s Juvenile Hall, while Taylor and Espinosa were booked into the County Jail. Taylor and Espinosa are each being held in lieu of $50,000 bail and are set to be arraigned early next week, a jail spokeswoman said.