dude got caught
http://www.pressdemo.com/EarlyEdition/article_view.cfm?recordID=7992&publishdate=11/16/2007
A 37-year-old Windsor man arrested this week was responsible for four shootings and at least three robberies, including holdups at two Santa Rosa area convenience stores, police said Thursday.
Javier Pena was linked to the shootings, including the slaying of a 56-year-old store clerk, by a handgun recovered after he was arrested for a parole violation.
"When the ballistics came back and we matched our gun from all three, it was one of those things that started to roll," Santa Rosa Police Lt. Jon Fehlman said.
Fehlman said Pena was still being interviewed at the Sheriff's Department late Thursday night and that investigators believe he'll be tied to other crimes over the past six months.
None of those crimes was a shooting, Fehlman said, but he declined to be more specific.
Pena was arrested for a parole violation after a traffic stop Wednesday, and rumors quickly began to circulate about a break in the convenience store case. But Fehlman said Pena wasn't linked to the shootings until Thursday.
In announcing the arrest, police confirmed for the first time that both convenience store robberies and a shooting outside a west Santa Rosa home were related.
The first robbery was before dawn Saturday at the Fast & Easy Mart on Old Redwood Highway in Larkfield.
A clerk, whose name has yet to be released by the Sheriff's Department, was shot at least three times after handing over the money and following orders to lie down on the floor. He is believed to be recuperating.
Just before midnight Monday, two men were shot during a robbery at Bill's Market on Russell Avenue in Santa Rosa. Gudrip Sigh, 56, the father of the store owner, was killed by a single gunshot wound to the chest.
Singh's son Sarabjit Singh was wounded. He remains in critical condition but is expected to survive, Fehlman said.
Singh family members said a gunshot narrowly missed his heart.
"He's OK now," said Iqbal Singh, the owner of Bill's Market and brother of Sarabjit.
The third shooting occurred less than an hour later outside a home on West Creek Lane in Santa Rosa.
Manoj Shrestha, 41, was shot twice in the abdomen. He is listed in critical condition and his wounds are life-threatening, Fehlman said.
He said Shrestha was shot during an attempted robbery by a gunman wearing a black ski mask.
"It looks like it was a robbery where he believed that Manoj was carrying cash, a large amount of cash, and that's why he was targeted," Fehlman said.
However, he added, Shrestha wasn't carrying any cash.
It's not known how much money was taken from Bill's Market or the Fast & Easy Mart.
A security camera inside Bill's Market captured an image of the gunman, wearing a ski mask and dressed in black, as he burst through the door and pointed a handgun toward the counter.
Gudrip Singh was behind the counter when he was shot; his son was shot as he tried to flee.
The slaying was the first in a Santa Rosa convenience store since 1999 when two men wearing ski masks shot the assistant manager at Azteca Market on Petaluma Hill Road. Two years earlier, a clerk at the 7-Eleven store on West Steele Lane was shot to death during a botched robbery attempt.
In both cases, the gunmen were arrested, convicted and sentenced to long prison terms.
Fehlman said a small-caliber handgun and other items of evidence were found during searches at three Windsor residences and a vehicle conducted subsequent to the arrest of Pena.
Pena has an extensive criminal history and has served time in prison, Fehlman said.
He was arrested Wednesday by sheriff's deputies.
The arrest and the link between the robberies and Shrestha's shooting was announced by Santa Rosa police at about 10:15 p.m. Thursday. Efforts to contact sheriff's detectives were unsuccessful.
Fehlman said Pena would be booked at Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder and robbery.
Earlier in the day Thursday, police and sheriff's officials denied rumors that an arrest had been made, though they said they were making progress in the investigation.
The arrest rumor had even reached the Singh family.
Iqbal Singh couldn't be reached for comment following the announcement of Pena's arrest, and a phone call to the store went unanswered.
Santa Rosa Police Chief Ed Flint and Sonoma County Sheriff Bill Cogbill sought during the day to tamp down community concerns about the violence.
"I think it's a reason for concern, and people should be cautious," Flint said.
Flint and Cogbill said their agencies had stepped up patrols around convenience stores and other shops that would be likely targets of similar robberies.
"We've got patrol officers watching the stores, and investigators working pretty much around the clock," Flint said. "We're taking pro-active measures ... We're reaching out to store clerks."
Santa Rosa Mayor Bob Blanchard agreed that the shootings do not represent a trend.
"It is a scary situation, and I can understand people being very nervous," he said. "But these are extremely infrequent situations that occur in our community."
He called the shootings an "ugly" occurrence. "My heart goes out to the family and I know the community's heart does, too," he said.
Iqbal Singh said Thursday his family was still waiting for the release of his father's body and that no funeral arrangements had yet been made.
