CORONADO, Calif. – Authorities Friday announced the arrest of a teen on suspicion of committing a series of armed robberies and attacking a woman last weekend in Coronado.
Manuel Sebastian Hernandez, 19, was jailed Friday and accused of being the suspect that went on a brazen crime spree that happened on the evening of Feb. 12. Hernandez, an Oceanside resident, faces 14 counts of armed robbery as well as charges for assault with a deadly weapon, assault with injury and carrying a loaded firearm, Oceanside police said in a Facebook post.
No further information about the circumstances of the arrest were released by the police.
“We would like to thank the victims for their patience and support during this investigation,” the department said in its post. “We will continue to be proactive and work with our community to keep Coronado safe.”
According to police, the spree began about 10:30 p.m. Feb. 12 when Hernandez approached a couple seated on a bench near Centennial Park. He reportedly brandished a gun and demanded their phones and valuables, the department said on Facebook.
Police say Hernandez later approached a group of five people on the other side of the park and took items from them at gunpoint.
Later near the Ferry Landing parking lot, he reportedly robbed a woman and “struck her on the head an unknown amount of times with the gun.” He then pointed his weapon at a group of three who police say witnessed the attack to rob them as well.
Hernandez was reported by police to have gotten into a scuffle with members of the group of five people, who managed to get his gun away before he fled the area.
Several days later, police said there were two more victims in the spree.
Kristen Moore told FOX 5 this week that she and a friend were robbed at gunpoint at the same time when the string of other crimes occurred. Based on the description by authorities, Moore believed she may have been robbed by a different man, but police have not said if Hernandez had an accomplice.
“I thought he was going to start fighting my friend,” Moore said Thursday. “That is what it looked like, but no, he flashed his waist, we saw the gun and he said, ‘Alright, so where is your wallet and keys.’”