Costa Mesa Man Arrested In Armed Robbery Of Store Owner
SANTA ANA (CBS) — A Costa Mesa man has been taken into custody in connection with the pistol-whipping robbery of an electronic store owner in Santa Ana.
Salvador Gonzalez Campos was charged with attempted murder, assault with a gun, second-degree robbery and other charges after being arrested Feb. 15 near his home in Costa Mesa, Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna said. Investigators found a .40-caliber Glock pistol in Campos' car when he was arrested, he said.
Campos is being held without bail and is scheduled to be arraigned March 11.
A second suspect is still outstanding in the Jan. 19 robbery at Force Electronics Inc., 2537 W. McFadden Ave.
The store owner, Adolfo Acosta, was opening his business that morning when the two suspects drove up in a Chevy Silverado Crew Cab truck. Thinking they were customers, Acosta directed them to park in the rear of the business, where he was hit in the back of the head with a gun, Bertagna said.
After a brief struggle with the gun, in which a shot was fired, the attacker threatened to kill the Acosta if he didn't give him money. After getting the money, the suspect fired his gun twice in the air before fleeing, Bertagna said.
The entire robbery was caught on tape, thanks to an elaborate surveillance system installed by Acosta after previous robberies.
Acosta was so angered by the robbery, he put up $10,000 of his own money as a reward for information leading to the capture of the robbers.
The second suspect is described as a heavyset Latino man who was wearing a white T-shirt and a black baseball cap. He remained in the vehicle during the robbery, Bertagna said.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
