Two men arrested after Riverside armed robbery
Mario Lopez was arrested after he allegedly pistol-whipped a man and discharged a firearm during an armed robbery.
RIVERSIDE – Two men were arrested for robbing a man and discharging a firearm while pistol-whipping him Aug. 9. The sound of the gunshot led nearby Riverside Police officers patrolling the area to the quick apprehension of three subjects, two of whom were later arrested.
Problem Orientated Policing officers from the East Neighborhood Policing Center were in the area of 7th Street and Cranford Avenue at about 8:40 p.m. “when they heard a gunshot and saw subjects running,” a department official wrote in a press release.
The POP officers quickly apprehended and detained the three subjects. During a subsequent search, they found Lopez to be in possession of a handgun. During their investigation, the POP officers determined two of the three subjects who were originally detained were the primary suspects in the incident.
Officers identified the two alleged suspects as Mario Lopez, 19 and Armando Fiesco-Martinez, 18. Both men are residents of Riverside.
While the investigation was continuing a victim arrived at a local hospital with lacerations to his head. The man told hospital staff he was injured during a robbery. Officers responded to the victim’s location to interview him about the incident.
Armando Fiesco-Martinez was arrested for his alleged participation in the armed robbery.
The victim told the investigating officers three subjects approached him One of the men, later identified as Lopez, hit him in the head with a handgun. When Lopez struck the victim with the butt of the gun a round was fired from the weapon.
After hitting the victim in the head with the gun and the gun discharging, Lopez and Fiesco-Martinez fled with the property they stole from the man.
During the investigation, officers conducted a records check on the handgun and learned it had been reported stolen from the City of San Bernardino.
The round that was fired from the gun struck an apartment building in the area. Officers conducted a welfare check and verified the bullet did not penetrate the interior of the building and no residents were injured.
At the end of their investigation officers arrested Fiesco-Martinez and Lopez for their alleged involvement in the violent incident.
A jail record search showed Lopez was booked into jail for suspicion of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, being a felon in possession of a firearm, robbery, conspiracy to commit a felony, shooting at an inhabited dwelling, and possession of stolen property.
He is being held in lieu of $130,000 at the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning. His next court date is set for Aug. 22 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.
Fiesco-Martinez was booked for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, robbery, and conspiracy to commit a felony. He was released the day after his arrest after posting $30,000 bail.
His next court date is set for Oct. 13 at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
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