Armed robbery and mail theft suspect arrested

MENIFEE – Menifee Police

Officers responded to a robbery Tuesday, July 18, at about 11:20 a.m., in the 28400 block of Cathedral Street. The victim, a United States Postal Service worker, told officers they were robbed at gunpoint while delivering mail in the area. The suspect had fled the scene, but the victim provided officers with a description of the suspect and the suspect’s vehicle, a white Kia Optima.

Dispatch provided the descriptions to surrounding agencies and at about 2:33 p.m., the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department advised they were following a vehicle matching the description. They attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused and a pursuit began. The pursuit went through the sheriff’s jurisdiction and ended in Menifee in a minor collision with another vehicle at McCall Boulevard and Briggs Road.

The uninvolved vehicle’s three passengers were treated for minor injuries at the scene and the two passengers in the suspect vehicle were juveniles who did not sustain injuries. Both juveniles were safely taken into custody. The victim of the robbery positively identified one of the juveniles as the suspect from earlier in the day, and both juveniles were booked into juvenile hall for robbery and other felony charges. The Menifee Police Department will continue to partner with the United States Postal Service Inspector in this investigation. “We are thankful for the team effort with the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department that safely removed a mail theft suspect from Menifee,” according to a news release from the Menifee Police Department. If anyone has any additional information about this incident, contact Detective Torres at mtorres@MenifeePolice.org

Submitted by Menifee Police Department.

Man admits molesting Lake Elsinore girls

City News Service

Special to the Valley News

A 52-year-old man who molested two Lake Elsinore girls pleaded guilty on Friday, July 21, to eight counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 years old.

Victor Saragosa Morones of Temecula admitted the felony charges, as well as a sentenceenhancing allegation of targeting multiple victims in a sex crime, under a plea agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. In exchange for his admissions, prosecutors agreed to drop eight related offenses against Morones.

Superior Court Judge F. Paul Dickerson scheduled a sentencing hearing for Sept. 15 at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta and ordered that the defendant remain held without bail at the nearby Byrd Detention Center.

According to sheriff’s Sgt. Jeff Reese, deputies initiated an inves- tigation last November after receiving information that Morones had engaged in illicit acts involving one of the girls, identified in court documents only as “A.A.” Court papers indicated that in the ensuing investigation, another girl, “E.M.,” was also identified as a victim.

The assaults occurred between January 2019 and December 2021, according to the criminal complaint.

Sufficient evidence was ultimately gathered to obtain an arrest warrant, and Morones was taken into custody without incident in the 28000 block of Old Town Front Street in Temecula on the morning of Feb. 9.

The circumstances behind the assaults, including Morones’ relationship, if any, to the children were not disclosed.

He has no documented prior felony or misdemeanor convictions in Riverside County.

July 28 – August 3, 2023