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Date: July 26, 2024 Case #: 24CF1919, 24CF1856, 24CF1775
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Fontana Third Striker, Two Los Angeles Felons Charged with
Robbing Off-duty Secret Service Agent at Gunpoint in Tustin Neighborhood
Victim shot, wounded one suspect during robbery.
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A third striker from Fontana and two Los Angeles felons have been charged with robbing an off-duty U.S. Secret Service agent at gunpoint in a Tustin neighborhood, stealing police equipment from the agent after he returned from working at a Los Angeles fundraiser where President Joe Biden was in attendance. The U.S. Secret Service agent fired at the suspects, hitting one of the men.
DNA found on several of the agent’s stolen items connected one of the suspects to the robbery, eventually leading to the arrest of all three men.
Jamonte Fitzgerald Johnson, 32, of Fontana, has been charged with one felony count of second-degree robbery, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon, and two felony enhancements of personal use of a firearm. Johnson, who is a three-striker is currently on federal probation for weapons violations and is on parole for criminal threats. Johnson has prior strike convictions for an attempted residential burglary in San Bernardino in 2012 and a residential burglary in 2013 in San Bernardino. He faces a maximum sentence of 36 years to life in state prison.
E’shon Dwayne Dodson, 21, of Compton, has been charged with one felony count of second-degree robbery and one felony enhancement of being armed with a firearm during the commission of a felony. He faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison.
Bertran Claude Bell, 38, of Los Angeles, has been charged with one felony count of second-degree robbery. He faces a maximum sentence of ten years in state prison. Bell has a prior strike conviction for a 2004 attempted robbery in Los Angeles.
Johnson is being held without bail. Dodson and Bell are each being held on $1 million bail.
On Saturday, June 15, 2024, just after 9:30 p.m. an off-duty Secret Service agent was walking from his parked car in a residential neighborhood in Tustin when a man, later identified as Johnson, got out of a gray SUV and approached the agent. Johnson is accused of pointing a gun at the agent and grabbing the agent’s laptop bag. During the robbery, the agent fired several shots, hitting Bell who was in the gray SUV. It was later discovered that Bell was hospitalized in Los Angeles to be treated for his gunshot wounds.
During the robbery, one of the suspects dropped a gun, which was left at the scene when the three men fled. The agent’s stolen cell phone, radio and other belongings were later recovered by Tustin detectives after they were discarded by the suspects during their escape.
Johnson was arrested in the City of Riverside on July 11, 2024, with the assistance of California Department of Parole, after DNA on the gun and the agent’s stolen belongings connected him to the crime.
Dodson was arrested in the Watts area of Los Angeles on July 17, 2024, with the assistance of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau Burglary-Robbery Task Force. Bell was taken into custody in the City of Los Angeles on July 24, 2024, also with the assistance of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Bureau Burglary-Robbery Task Force.
“This is yet another shameful illustration of how the failed soft-on-crime polices implemented by the state Legislature and the Governor continue to entice violent career criminals to come to Orange County from other counties for the sole purpose of victimizing Orange County residents,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “They clearly haven’t gotten the message that crime doesn’t pay in Orange County and violence will not be tolerated. We will hold these armed robbers accountable to the fullest extent of the law. No one, regardless of whether you are a Secret Service agent or an everyday resident, should have to worry about being robbed at gunpoint in the middle of a neighborhood. Thankfully, the Tustin Police Department with the help of DNA and our partners at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and the California Division of Adult Parole Operations were able to quickly identify these three career criminals and get them off the streets and behind bars where they belong.”
“Following the robbery on June 15, 2024, of the off-duty United States Secret Service agent, Tustin Police Department detectives worked tirelessly to identify and apprehend all three suspects. This is just another example of our commitment to identifying and arresting anyone who participates in criminal activity in the City of Tustin,” said Tustin Police Chief Stu Greenberg. “All three suspects have significant criminal histories, including multiple weapons violations. I want to thank all allied agencies who assisted in this investigation, including the Irvine Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and CDC Parole, along with all personnel from the Tustin Police Department who participated in the investigation and arrests. Additionally, I want to thank the United States Secret Service for their cooperation during the investigation.”
Senior Deputy District Attorney Ann Fawaz of the Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting this case.
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