Full Notification

On April 25, 2016 at approximately 2:33 a.m., Corona Police officers responded to Wal-Mart, located at 1290 E. Ontario Avenue reference a robbery that had just occurred. The store manager called the police and reported that a male was inside stealing camping equipment. When the manager confronted subject outside in the parking lot, the subject brandished a box cutter and attempted to ‘slash’ him. After the altercation, the subject fled the scene in an older blue four-door Toyota.

While assisting officers conducted an area check for the outstanding vehicle, a clerk from the Arco AM/PM located at 702 E. Grand Blvd. flagged down two officers advising he had been “robbed”. The clerk was bleeding from his head and told officers the robbery suspect hit him over the head with a metal hammer and stole an undetermined amount of money. The clerk told officers the suspect drove away in a blue Toyota van heading east towards the park.

Officers quickly located a similar vehicle in the area of E. Sixth Street and Rimpau Avenue.
When officers attempted to stop the vehicle, the driver failed to yield and a vehicle pursuit ensued. During the pursuit, the driver, on two separate occasions, intentionally swerved his vehicle towards pursuing officers.

The pursuit ended near Indiana and Buchanan, City of Riverside, where the suspect was taken into custody. The suspect was identified as James Puentes, a 27-year-old Corona resident. He was transported to the Robert Presley Detention Center and charged with two counts of robbery, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon, and felony evading after being positivity identified by witnesses in both cases.