UPDATE, SEPT. 9, 3:09 P.M.: Well, we still haven't received our invite to Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens' presumably rescheduled press conference on the murder arrests of four suspects in the June
attempted robbery of a San Juan Capistrano jeweler that resulted in would-be robbers Desmond Brown and Robert Earl Avery of Los Angeles being shot dead by the owner. But we can fill in many of the blanks thanks to an announcement about the impending arraignment on felony murder and attempted robbery charges of Alan Keith Hunter, 39,
of Moreno Valley; George Anthony Boozer, 36, of Apple Valley; and James Stephan
Paschall, 41, and Eddie Allen Clark Jr., 27, of Gardena.
]
Each was being held in lieu of $1million bail apiece before today's
scheduled 3 p.m. arraignment at the Central Jail in Santa Ana. Under
state law, suspects can be charged with murder if their fellow suspects
are killed during the commission of a crime.
Boozer, who is
accused of being the lookout for three would-be robbers of Monaco
Jewelers in San Juan Capistrano on June 24, and Clark, who was allegedly
the third bandit who got away without being shot to death by the store
owner, each face maximum sentences of 15 years to life in state prison
if convicted of all the charges against them.
Third-strikers
Hunter, another alleged lookout, and Paschall, who is accused of being
the getaway driver, each have two prior strike convictions for 1995 and
1996 armed robberies and face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in
state prison if convicted.
The full Orange County District Attorney's statement, which details the botched heist, killing of two suspects and how authorities nabbed the outstanding men, follows:
September 9, 2011
Case #11CF2479
FOUR MEN TO BE ARRAIGNED FOR MURDER OF TWO SUSPECTS IN BOTCHED JEWELRY STORE ATTEMPTED ROBBERY
*Two of the co-defendants are third-strikers for armed robbery convictions
SANTA ANA – Four men will be arraigned today for the murder of two
suspects in a jewelry store attempted robbery. Alan Keith Hunter, 39,
Moreno Valley, George Anthony Boozer, 36, Apple Valley, James Stephan
Paschall, 41, and Eddie Allen Clark Jr., 27, both from Gardena, are each
charged with one felony count of murder and one felony count of
attempted robbery. If convicted on all counts, Boozer and Clark Jr. face
a maximum sentence of 15 years to life in state prison. Third-strikers
Hunter and Paschall each have two prior strike convictions for 1995 and
1996 armed robberies and face a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in
state prison if convicted. The defendants are being held on $1 million
bail and are scheduled to be arraigned today, Sept. 9, 2011, at 3:00
p.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana.
At approximately 11:15 a.m. on June 24, 2011, 39-year-old Robert Avery
was allowed into the locked premises of Monaco Jewelers on Doheny Park
Road in San Juan Capistrano. Clark Jr. is accused of entering the
showroom with 39-year-old Desmond Brown. Avery walked out of the
showroom and into the work area. He pulled out a gun, grabbed the store
manager, and pointed the gun at the manager's head and chest. The store
owner then shot Avery and turned the gun on Brown and shot him as Brown
was running toward him. Brown kept coming toward the owner and was shot
again. Both Brown and Avery died at the scene. Clark Jr. is accused of
fleeing the scene.
Hunter and Boozer are accused of being involved as lookouts for police
in the attempted robbery. They are accused of fleeing the scene once
police began to arrive. Paschall is accused of being involved as the
get-away driver.
Orange County Sheriff's Department responded to the scene and
investigated the case. Special Weapons and Tactics officers and police
dogs surrounded the area in search of Clark Jr., but he was not located.
During the investigation, Boozer and Hunter were linked to the crime
through phone records and Clark Jr. and Paschall were connected by a DNA
hit.
Senior Deputy District Attorney
Scott Simmons of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
ORIGINAL POST, SEPT. 8, 11:55 A.M.: Orange County Sheriff Sandra Hutchens was set to share at her Santa Ana headquarters this afternoon details on the murder arrests of four suspects in the June
attempted robbery of a San Juan Capistrano jeweler that resulted in two
would-be robbers being shot dead by employees.
However, Hutchens' agency just sent word that the press conference on Flower Street has been postponed “[d]ue to developments in the investigation of the robbery/homicide at Monaco Jewelers.”
“As soon as circumstances in the case permit, the press conference will be rescheduled,” continues the statement from the sheriff's Public Affairs office.
As originally reported, three robbers entered the store at 33955 Doheny Park Road around 11:30 a.m. on June 24, but workers opened fire and killed two of them. Desmond Brown and Robert Earl Avery, both 39 and from Los Angeles, were later pronounced dead at the scene by fire officials.
The third robber and a getaway driver got away despite an intense manhunt, roadblocks and the evacuation of nearby businesses.
Hutchens was scheduled to face reporters today in the North Operations Briefing Room on the arrests of four people for murder in the case. The news conference was first scheduled for 10:15 a.m. today and then changed late Wednesday afternoon to 2 p.m. today.
At the time of the original incident, the sheriff's spokesman was unsure whether the robbers were armed. It's easy to see why employees of Monaco Jewelers, which is also known as Cash For My Gold, were packing, however.
In July 2009, the store was the victim of a $5.8 million jewelry heist that Orange County sheriff's investigator J.
DelMonico called a “very sophisticated, professional job,” and “one of the best
we've seen.”
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.