3 L.A. County Gang Members Accused of Crime Spree in Loma Linda, Highland

Three men identified as Los Angeles County gang members were behind bars Friday on suspicion of pulling burglaries in Loma Linda and Highland and prompting a lockdown at a daycare center, sheriff's officials said.

In the first incident, a Loma Linda woman said she came home Tuesday, two burglars jumped out her window and one of them punched her in the face, deputies said in a statement.

She returned to her home in the 11800 block of Columbia Court before 3 p.m. Sept. 4 and found the garage door open, deputies said.

"As she walked toward the front door, she saw glass from a broken window," deputies said. "Almost immediately two Hispanic male suspects jumped out the window from inside her home. One of the suspects ran past her and punched her in the face."

The suspects jumped into a Dodge Magnum station wagon, where a third suspect waited to drive, and they fled north on Columbia, deputies said.

"The victim's home was completely ransacked and many doors and cabinets completely destroyed," deputies said.

The suspects got away with money and electronics, but "many more valuables were staged in a pile that the suspects would have gotten away with had they not been interrupted by the victim," deputies said.

About an hour passed and just before 4 p.m. in Highland, a resident reported seeing two Hispanic males breaking into a neighbor's home in the 7300 block of Marigold Avenue.

Deputies and detectives arrived and found a Dodge Magnum parked nearby. As deputies approached the Magnum, the driver sat up and drove off at a high rate of speed.

The Magnum driver led deputies on a chase through east Highland, "until the driver eventually lost control and crashed through a fence and into a dirt field at Orchard and Terrace," according to the Sheriff's Department.

The driver ran through the field but deputies caught him. He was later identified as George Velis, 21, of the Walnut Street Gang, deputies said. Numerous stolen items were found in the Magnum.

Deputies at the burglarized home on Marigold found stolen items scattered near the residence. They believed two suspects were still at large in the area.

"Neighbors reported seeing the suspects run through properties towards a shopping center at Baseline and Church Street," deputies said.

Deputies, K9 officers, San Bernardino police, and a sheriff's helicopter crew converged on the area and concentrated their search near the Kindercare daycare center where the suspects were last seen, according to the Sheriff's Department.

"During this time the daycare center was locked down for the safety of the children and staff inside," deputies said.

The suspects were seen pacing through a parking lot, and when deputies arrived they found one of them trying to call a taxi, according to the Sheriff's Department.

He was taken into custody and identified as Gabriel Corona, 25, also of the Walnut Street Gang, deputies said.

"An exhaustive search was conducted but the third suspect was not immediately located and the businesses were removed from lockdown," deputies said.

About 45 minutes later an off-duty police officer who knew about the ongoing search called in.

"The officer heard noises in the thick brush on the west side of the now closed Kindercare and spotted a suspect, apparently hiding," deputies said.

The off-duty officer guided responding deputies to the location where they found the third suspect and took him into custody. He was identified as Manuel DeLeon, 22, of the Bratz Gang, deputies said.

Velis and Corona were locked up Friday at Central Detention Center in San Bernardino, according to inmate records. Bail for Velis and Corona was listed at $500,000 each. DeLeon was behind bars at West Valley Detention Center and his bail was listed as $100,000.

The Sheriff's Department pointed out Corona is on AB109 Release from prison.

"With the passage of AB109, law enforcement agencies across the state are experiencing an increase in property crimes  due mainly to the influx of recently released state prisoners that have been transferred to county probation departments," sheriff's officials said. "Many of these AB109 releases are unemployed and/or homeless and are looking for quick supplemental income."

are responsible for a percentage of a recent crime increase noted in Loma Linda, sheriff's Capt. Steve Dorsey told the Loma Linda council last week.

Anyone with more information about the suspects was urged to call the Loma Linda Police at (909) 387-3545 or the Highland Police Department at (909) 425-9793.

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