Five Charged in Connection with Wheaton Armed Robbery
Clockwise from upper left, Romero-Rivera, Ramirez-Delgado, Avila-Castro and Ayala-Rivera | MCPD
Montgomery County police have arrested four men and a teenager, whom they believe may have been responsible for a string of commercial armed robberies, a police statement released over the weekend said.
The latest robbery occurred Friday at the Cash Depot store at 11246 Georgia Ave., Wheaton, the statement said.
Those charged were:
- Miguel A. Ayala-Rivera, 23;
- Marcio Roney Avila-Castro, 21;
- Yeruin J. Romero-Rivera, 21;
- Juan R. Ramirez-Delgado, 34; and
- Edwin Geovanny Zelaya-Ramirez, 17.
None could provide a confirmed address, police said. Zelaya-Ramirez was charged as an adult, police said.
In each robbery, the culprits were armed with handguns and often concealed their faces. They would enter a business, threaten employees and demand cash, police said. One of these robberies was a Sept. 22 armed robbery of the Exxon gas station, police said.
About 12:35 p.m. Friday, Wheaton District officers responded to the report of an armed robbery that had just occurred at the Cash Depot store, police said. The preliminary investigation revealed that several culprits, with their faces concealed and brandishing firearms, entered the store, police said.
The men threatened a store employee and demanded money, police said. The employee complied with the demands, and witnesses saw the men flee in a white Chevrolet van, police said. Responding officers broadcast a lookout for the van, police said.
Weapon found in van | MCPD
About 12:50 p.m., officers saw a white Chevrolet van in the Takoma Park area, and plainclothes officers driving unmarked county police vehicles began to follow it, police said. The van entered the Inner Loop of the Beltway toward College Park, police said.
As the van approached the U.S. 1 area, it collided with at least one vehicle, and the driver of the van fled from the vehicle onto the Beltway trying to elude capture, police said.
The driver, identified as Juan Carlos Gomez, 37, of an unconfirmed address, was struck by an unmarked MCP vehicle, driven by an on-duty county police officer who was involved in the pursuit, police said.
MCP officers at the collision scene began life-saving measures on Gomez but he died from injuries at the scene, police said. Two men who had remained in the van were arrested, and two others were arrested after a brief pursuit on foot, police said. Multiple firearms were recovered from inside the van.
Ayala-Rivera, Avila-Castro, Romero-Rivera, Ramirez-Delgado, and Zelaya-Ramirez were taken to the Central Processing Unit (CPU) where they were charged with armed robbery, first-degree assault, and the use of a firearm during the commission of a violent felony. Ayala-Rivera was charged with an additional count of armed robbery for the September 22 Exxon gas station armed robbery.
Bail information for the suspects is not yet available.
The collision is being investigated by the Maryland State Police. The officer involved in the collision, a 24-year veteran of the Department, is identified as Sgt. William Thomas. Following protocol, he is on paid Administrative Leave during this investigation.
So were they in the USA legally or is MCP following the standard dogma of the liberal left?