Printer-friendly version
November 10, 2011 (San Diego) -- San Diego Police Department Robbery Unit detectives have arrested Ryan McKnight, 34, and Robert Chavira, 40, in connection with a series of robberies throughout California, according to Lt. Andra Brown at SDPD. These include the September 16 armed robbery at the Ben Bridge Jewelry in Mission Valley and the November 9 armed robbery at Barona Casino in Lakeside.
San Diego Police Department Robbery Unit detectives have been working with investigators from the San Jose Police Department and Riverside County Sheriff's Department to investigate take-over jewelry store robberies that have occurred in their jurisdictions. On November 8, the San Jose Police Department identified McKnight as one of the suspects in their jewelry store robbery, which occurred in mid-October. On November 9, Riverside County Sheriff's Department identified McKnight as one of the suspects in their jewelry store robbery, which occurred on October 26.
Yesterday, at about 5:15 p.m., McKnight was located and taken into custody. McKnight was in a vehicle being driven by Chavira when he was arrested. Both McKnight and Chavira are on active parole and were arrested for parole violations.
During searches that were conducted after the arrests of McKnight and Chavira, evidence was located that suggests they may be involved in the robbery at Barona Casino, which occurred early yesterday morning at approximately 2:30 a.m. Theives fired a gunshot to crack open a display case and stole money inside.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Department, the lead agency in the investigation into the Barona Casino robbery, and the Department of Justice were contacted and are working closely with the San Diego Police Robbery Unit detectives, as well as detectives from San Jose and Riverside. Both subjects were booked into county jail on parole violations.
The investigations are continuing and anyone with information on any of these robberies is asked to contact the San Diego Police Department or the San Diego County Sheriff's Department.
Recent comments