A 20-year-old man who lured multiple victims to locations in Moreno Valley on the pretext of completing sales transactions, then stole from them at gunpoint, pleaded guilty Friday to four counts of armed robbery.
Marvin Owen Haywood of Moreno Valley was arrested last December following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Haywood’s case was called for a preliminary hearing Friday at the Riverside Hall of Justice, but his attorney broached a plea agreement, which Superior Court Judge Jason Armand accepted, apparently without input or objection from the District Attorney’s Office.
The defendant admitted all charges against him.
The judge scheduled Haywood’s sentencing for Jan. 5 and ordered that he remain held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning until the date of the hearing.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Robert Martinez, the first holdup occurred on the afternoon of Dec. 17, 2022, in the 24100 block of Cottonwood Avenue, near Heacock Street.
Martinez said that a resident went to the location after receiving a request from Haywood to purchase an item listed by the victim for sale via an unspecified online marketplace.
“After presenting the item … he was robbed of the item at gunpoint,” the sergeant said.
He said Haywood fled immediately afterward, and the man, whose identity was not disclosed, called 911. Deputies searched the area without success.
According to Martinez, in the ensuing six days, three additional holdups involving online sellers at various locations citywide occurred — all bearing circumstances analogous to the first robbery.
No one was injured.
Detectives ultimately identified Haywood as the perpetrator and tracked him down at JFK Drive and Perris Boulevard, where he was taken into custody without incident on Dec. 28.
“(Investigators) subsequently served a search warrant at Haywood’s residence in the 15100 block of Perris, where items related to the robberies were located,” Martinez said.
Haywood had no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.
Martinez said at the time that the robberies served as a reminder of the importance of residents utilizing designated “safe exchange” locations, such as the parking lot of the Moreno Valley sheriff’s station, to conduct private sales transactions.