3 Suspects Held in Beer Truck Heist
Three men have been arrested in Riverside County on suspicion of hijacking a beer truck in Orange last week and stealing most of its cargo, police said.
Booked into Orange County Jail were Apolinio Alvarez, 40, of Santa Ana; Fausto Flores, 25; and Heron Telon Jr., 21, both of Perris.
The three were arrested early Tuesday after detectives and a Riverside County sheriff’s SWAT team, alerted by several calls from residents, raided two houses, one in the Mead Valley area near Perris and one in Corona.
About 30% of the 300 cases of beer that had been stolen were recovered from the Mead Valley house, said Sgt. Bryan Meissner, a spokesman for the Orange Police Department.
The three are accused of involvement in the Jan. 29 hijacking of a Budweiser delivery truck that was driven through two counties before being released, along with its unharmed driver, four hours later in San Bernardino. Police said a man had forced his way into the truck’s cab shortly after 9:15 a.m. while the driver was stopped at an intersection.
Investigators are still looking for two more suspects as well as a gold 2002 Chrysler 300M with tinted windows believed to be involved in the heist, Meissner said.
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