A getaway driver in a rash of armed robberies in Santa Ana has pled guilty and was sentenced to three years in prison, according to court records obtained Wednesday.
Lizeth Carrillo of Santa Ana, 22, pled guilty to one count of second-degree robbery and admitted a sentencing enhancement for gang activity. As part of the plea deal, three counts of first-degree robbery with sentencing enhancements for gang activity were dropped.
Co-defendant Fernando Velasquez Garcia, 29, of Santa Ana, is next due in court Feb. 22 for a pretrial hearing in the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana. Garcia, who was on post-release community supervision, is accused of carrying out four armed robberies and Carrillo was the getaway driver.
The most recent two robberies occurred Sept. 23, at a Shell gas station at 2641 N. Bristol St. at 10:37 p.m. and a USA station at 2730 W. McFadden Ave. at 11:07 p.m., according to Santa Ana Police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna.
Garcia is also accused of evening holdups Sept. 19 and Sept. 20 at Game Stop stores at 1030 S. Main St. and 2860 S. Bristol St., respectively.
In the Game Stop holdups, the suspect simulated what appeared to be a weapon, Bertagna said. In the gas station heists, the suspect brandished a black handgun, he said.
Garcia is a documented gang member, and that is what led investigators to him, Bertagna said. He said detectives showed surveillance video photos of the suspect, and the city’s gang crimes officers recognized him.
An officer spotted Garcia walking down the street in the 400 block of South Maple Street and arrested him in September, Bertagna said.