Police Catch Suspects Who Robbed Home Near Taft at Gunpoint

Redwood City Police Monday announced that they have arrested the three suspects believed to have been the ones to rob a 10th Avenue home at gunpoint in February.

The incident prompted a police search that locked down Taft Elementary School and left many parents fearful for their children.

On Feb. 7 at approximately 11:52 a.m., officers responded to a residence in the 900 block of 10th Avenue on a report of a robbery in progress.

Two Hispanic male adults entered the residence and held the lone occupant at gunpoint while they ransacked the house. The victim, a 79-year-old woman, was eventually locked in a bedroom and was able to call the police.

Responding officers located and arrested the first of the three suspects, Jovanni Martinez Aguilar, 21, of Redwood City, immediately, as he attempted to flee the scene. 
the second male suspect, Luis Martinez Trujillo, 21, also of Redwood City. Detectives also identified the third suspect, a juvenile Hispanic female, who assisted in the robbery, presumably by acting as a look-out on the street.

Redwood City detectives continued to pursue leads and tracked the two outstanding suspects, Trujillo and the young female, to a location in Mexicali, Mexico. Both subjects, who are U.S. citizens, were located in Mexicali on Feb. 27 by Mexican law enforcement officials.

Both suspects were arrested and expelled from Mexico as "undesirable U.S. citizens," RCPD reported Monday. They were subsequently transported to the U.S.-Mexico border and transferred to the custody of U.S. law enforcement. 

Trujillo was booked into the Imperial County Jail and the juvenile female, whose identity has not yet been released, was booked into the Imperial County Juvenile Detention Center. Both suspects have since been returned to San Mateo County.

Trujillo was booked in the San Mateo County Jail on March 6 and the juvenile female was booked into the San Mateo County Juvenile Detention Center on March 4. The suspects are facing charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, elder abuse, and conspiracy. 

"These violent suspects were taken into custody through a coordinated investigation between the Redwood City Police Department, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office Special Operations Division, the U.S. Marshal’s Office, and the Baja State Police," RCPD said in a statement on Monday.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to contact Detective Mark Alifano of RCPD at 650-780-7677. 

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