Photo: Fernando HernandezDetectives of the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office, Kingsburg, Orange Cove, Selma, and Fowler Police Departments formed a task force to investigate six robberies spanning Tulare and Fresno Counties. The when and where of the robberies are as follows: Traver (Tulare County) September 13th , Orange Cove October 24th , Kingsburg October 27th , Fowler October 27th and November 4th , and Selma October 29th .
The suspects displayed a firearm in each of the robberies and two of the robberies involved shots fired at the store clerk. The thieves made off with cash, beer, and tobacco products totaling a loss to the stores of $5000. The month-long investigation net six arrests – four juveniles, two adults – over a 13-day period.
The adult suspects are identified as 18-year old Fernando Hernandez of Orosi (Tulare County) and 19-year old Martin Muro of London (Tulare County). The juveniles ranged in age of 16 to 17. All suspects were booked respectively into the Fresno County Jail, Tulare County Jail, Fresno County Juvenile Justice Center, or the Tulare County Juvenile Detention Facility.
Charges include armed robbery, kidnapping, false imprisonment, attempted murder, terrorist threats, escape, and various firearms charges.
The story doesn’t end there.
On October 23rd , a hit and run was reported in the area of Avenue 408 and Road 150 in Orosi. The victim was found deceased by TCSO deputies with his body displaying signs of being shot.
An October 27th autopsy confirmed the victim died of a single gunshot wound to his head. While the multi-agency task force investigated the string of robberies, DNA evidence suggested some of the robbery suspects were involved in the October 23rd murder.
A 16-year old boy from London, a 17-year old boy from Cutler, and 18-year old Fernando Hernandez of Orosi were arrested for the murder of the 54-year old Guatemalan victim.
The victim was driven to the area of Avenue 408 and Road 150 in Orosi where he was robbed, shot, and ran over by the suspects. The 16-year old is believed to be the shooter. The three suspects, who already faced charges for the robberies, face new charges of homicide, robbery, and gang enhancement.
