Serial Mugger Arrested and Charged with Six Counts of Armed Robbery

LA QUINTA – After two consecutive robberies over the weekend, a suspect was arrested and charged with these and several other robberies in the area.

Two women were held up at gunpoint on Avenida Rubio in La Quinta

On Saturday, November 10 the La Quinta Police were called to the scenes of two robberies. The first robbery occurred at 7:56 PM at the 54000 Block of Avenida Rubio. The two victims at the scene reported being mugged by a Hispanic male in his late 20’s to early 30’s, wearing dark clothing and brandishing a handgun. After he demanded their purses, which the victims relinquished, the suspect fled in a white sport utility vehicle, heading northbound on Avenida Rubio.

Approximately a half-hour later, another robbery occurring in the location of Venice Drive and San Marino Court was reported to the La Quinta Police department. The victim was retrieving his mail from a community mailbox when he was approached by a suspect matching the description of the previous suspect. The man again held up the victim with a gun, and this time took his wallet, fleeing in a vehicle matching the one described in the previous crime.

None of the victims were physically hurt in the robberies. The Police Department immediately linked these two incidents and began an investigation.

Within the hour, another hold up was reported in this neighborhood

While the La Quinta Police Department looked into these crimes, the suspect apparently continued his crime spree in other cities in the Coachella Valley. On Sunday Indio Police Officers arrested Jose Jesus Morales, an 18 year-old Coachella resident for another robbery which occurred in the city of Indio. This robbery was linked to the two incidents in La Quinta as well as several other matching crimes in Indio and Palm Desert. Investigators from the Thermal and Palm Desert Sheriff’s Stations worked closely with the Indio Police Department, ultimately charging Morales with six counts of armed robbery across the desert.

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