Source: US FBI
Three Southern California residents on June 23 were sentenced to prison for their roles in a 2024 armed robbery and carjacking at a Bloomington, California, auto repair shop and ordered to pay $11,980 in restitution.
All four defendants were found guilty by a jury of participating in an armed robbery and carjacking of a car repair business in Bloomington, California, in which one victim was pistol-whipped into near unconsciousness. At the conclusion of a 13-day trial, a federal jury on late June 18 returned a guilty verdict on all counts against the following defendants:
- Marcos Guerrero, 49, of Glendora, California, was sentenced to 219 months in federal prison.
- Elijah Gafare, 36, of West Covina, California, was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
- Cinthia Leal, 39, of Glendora, California, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison.
- A fourth defendant, Vincent Solarez, 59, of Upland, California, was sentenced to four years in prison on June 2. Solarez was also ordered to pay $11,980 in restitution.
All four defendants were found guilty of one count of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act), one count of Hobbs Act robbery, and one count of carjacking.
Guerrero, Gafare, and Leal also were found guilty of witness tampering and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of and in relation to a crime of violence. Guerrero, further, was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.
According to evidence presented at trial, Guerrero, Gafare, Leal, and Solarez participated in an armed robbery of a car repair shop in Bloomington, California, in the early morning hours of March 12, 2024. During the robbery, two of the defendants brandished firearms, and one of the defendants pistol-whipped one of the victims into near-unconsciousness.
The defendants kept the victims hostage and threatened to kill them if the victims didn’t hand over cash, their car, and if they ever called law enforcement. In total, defendants stole several thousand dollars in cash and the business surveillance system, in addition to the victim’s car and other property.
Law enforcement tracked the defendants down and arrested them in May and June of 2024.
On May 30, 2024, Guerrero illegally possessed a .45-caliber firearm and dozens of rounds of ammunition. He isn’t permitted to possess firearms and ammunition because his criminal history includes convictions in San Bernardino County Superior Court for home invasion robbery, first-degree residential burglary, false imprisonment by violence, possession of a firearm by a felon, and evading a police officer.
The FBI Inland Violent Crimes Suppression Task Force and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department investigated this matter.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua J. Lee and Neil P. Thakor of the General Crimes Section, and Tritia L. Yuen of the Riverside Branch Office, are prosecuting this case.