Jailed Man Identified, Linked to 3rd Robbery

A man jailed in connection with a carjacking in Ventura and--minutes later--an armed robbery in Oxnard has been identified and linked to another robbery, police said Sunday.

A second man involved in the same series of crimes remained at large Sunday.

Orlando Ramon Mendoza, 19, remained in Ventura County Jail on Sunday night on $250,000 bail, a deputy at the jail said.

Mendoza and a second man stole an Ojai man’s Jeep Cherokee at gunpoint at the Doubletree Hotel in Ventura about 6:40 p.m. Saturday, police said.

Less than half an hour later, two men traveling in the same Jeep Cherokee committed an armed robbery in the parking lot of the Target store in Oxnard, police said.

Following a brief chase by officers, the pair abandoned the Jeep in the 600 block of E Street, Oxnard Police Cmdr. Joe Munoz said. Both men fled on foot and Mendoza was caught.

After the arrest, Oxnard officers received a report of a robbery that had occurred the same night in the parking lot of Leonardo’s Night Club in Oxnard, police said.

A description of the suspects in the nightclub robbery matched descriptions given by witnesses in the Target holdup, police said.

Mendoza was booked on suspicion of committing a carjacking and two armed robberies, the deputy at the jail said. He is scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday.

An undisclosed amount of cash was stolen in the robberies. It was unclear whether the money was recovered. Police said they retrieved a gun they believe Mendoza tossed aside as he was being chased.