Gang Member Gets 90 Years for Jewelry Heist

A convicted gang member who took part in the robbery of Joshi & Baca Jewelers in Laguna Beach in January 2009 was sentenced Friday to 90 years to life in prison.

Michael Burgin, 32, of San Diego was the last of a dozen defendants involved in an investigation of a San Diego gang to be sentenced. He and co-defendant Adam Weick, 31, also were involved in the robbery of a jewelry store in Tustin. Weick was sentenced to 21 years behind bars.

Burgin was convicted of two felony counts each of second-degree robbery, second-degree commercial burglary and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for gang activity: the vicarious use of a gun by a gang member and two prior strikes for first-degree burglaries in 1999 and 2002.

Burgin robbed Joshi & Baca Jewelers, on Aug. 25, 2009, with Alonso Jose Lopez and Pedro Avina Hernandez, who were convicted in 2010 of robbery and gang charges. Both were sentenced to prison terms of six years and 25 years, respectively.

In the Laguna Beach heist, the robbers stole more than $1 million in valuables before leading police on a wild chase that ended in Aliso Viejo, where they escaped. Lopez was arrested a couple of days later after another high-speed chase.

Weick was convicted of second-degree robbery, second-degree commercial burglary and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for gang activity: vicarious use of a gun by a gang member and a prior strike for kidnapping in 2005.

In the robber of Tustin Village Jewelers on August 2, 2009, co-defendant Aida Arroyo, 30, pretended to sell a ring, but when she asked security personnel to be let out of the shop to make a telephone call, Burgin and Weick burst in. They forced an employee to open a safe at gunpoint and stole more than $160,000 in valuables, according to prosecutors.

Arroyo pleaded guilty midway through to second-degree robbery, second-degree commercial burglary and street terrorism, with sentencing enhancements for gang activity. She was sentenced April 20 to 12 years in prison.

All but two of the defendants belonged to the Vista Home Boys street gang near San Diego, according to prosecutors. Several others in the gang were convicted of identity theft and receiving stolen property.

Agencies involved in the investigation were Laguna Beach police, Tustin
police, sheriff's deputies from Orange and San Diego counties, Chula Vista and Oceanside police, Homeland Security and the Orange County District Attorney's Office.