A Corona man arrested Wednesday, Dec 21, was accused of using a gun to threaten employees and demand cash from at least 10 different businesses across central Orange County last month, local police and federal prosecutors said.
George Arizon, 27, wielded a black handgun with a gold barrel when he calmly walked into five different stores in Santa Ana on Nov. 1, according to an affidavit filed in federal court last week. Each time, Arizon either placed his gun on the store’s counter or pointed it at an employee at the cash register, asking them to give them all the money without “making a scene.”
On Nov. 8, Arizon again, according to the affidavit, walked into two stores in Garden Grove and three in Westminster with the same gun, then demanded cash.
After the crime at the fifth store, a Westminster police officer arrived at the strip mall where Arizon was accused of targeting businesses, then spotted the man running from the parking lot. The officer chased him into a neighborhood, where police set up a perimeter. But Arizon was not found. However, security camera footage from a nearby motel showed Arizon ditching the hooded sweatshirt he was wearing, then fleeing.
The sweater, as well as cell phone location data and security camera footage, helped police find Arizon. The sweater police said he dumped had a NASA logo on it; when police found Arizon’s Facebook account, his profile photo showed him wearing the same sweater.
According to the affidavit, which was written by a Santa Ana police detective working with a federal task force focused on violent crime in Orange County, Arizon was accused of making off with around at least $2,480 and two packs of cigarettes from the string of robberies.
The detective accused a second man, identified as Brandon Robinson of Anaheim, of assisting Arizon in the robberies by acting as a getaway driver. A U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesman said Robinson also was arrested Wednesday.
Details on where Arizon was arrested Wednesday were not available. He has not been charged yet, but the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles said he’s expected to appear in federal court in Orange County on Thursday.
The affidavit detailed an extensive surveillance operation by the detective and federal agents, which saw them track Arizon as he met with Robinson in Cerritos, with the two eating together at a restaurant in Buena Park. Agents entered the restaurant, too, where they said they observed Arizon wearing boots they matched to ones the robbery suspect wore during the string of crimes.
The agents also tracked Arizon to his residence in Corona.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Arizon could be charged with one count of robbery and an enhancement for using a gun in the crimes. It’s not clear whether he’d face additional charges for all of the robberies.
Robinson was also expected to appear in federal court on Thursday.
