Updated: Wednesday, 16 Sep 2009, 6:19 PM PDT
Published : Wednesday, 16 Sep 2009, 4:54 AM PDT
Posted by: Scott Coppersmith
Home Gardens (myFOXla.com) - Five men were arrested today on suspicion of shooting a
clergyman outside his parish in Home Gardens, allegedly targeting
the victim during a robbery spree in Los Angeles and Riverside
counties.
Willis Bagley, 38, of Perris; Jacob Buschow, 19, of Pomona;
Anthony Coleman, 21, of Chino; Timothy Jacqueman, 18, of Pomona;
and Andrew Swindle, 23, of Pomona, are accused of shooting Bishop
Antonio Garduno, 51, outside Our Lady of Tepeyac at 13462 Magnolia
Ave. around 10 p.m. Tuesday.
According to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department, the
victim went into the church courtyard to investigate a suspicious
noise and was confronted by the suspects, one of whom opened fire.
Garduno managed to get back into the church and dial 911. He
remains in stable condition at Riverside County Regional Medical
Center in Moreno Valley, sheriff's officials said.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez, the suspects on
Tuesday afternoon began what would become a 10-hour crime spree,
starting at a House of Pancakes in the 18000 block of Gale Avenue
in Industry.
After robbing the restaurant around 2:30 p.m., the men
proceeded to a Denny's eatery at 1425 Nogales St. in nearby Rowland
Heights, where they committed another robbery, Gutierrez said.
He said the suspects held up a Denny's at 3012 Temple Ave. in
Pomona at 3:15 p.m.
"This was a very extensive, large-scale crime spree,"
Gutierrez said.
He said investigators have not been able to account for the
men's whereabouts during the roughly six and a half hours between
the robbery in Pomona and the shooting outside the church in Home
Gardens.
"It's purely speculative, but they could have gone to another
restaurant, and it was too busy, so they went by the church," the
sergeant said.
He said the suspects may have intended to rob the bishop.
After the shooting, the men went to a Denny's restaurant in
the 1300 block of Hamner Avenue in Norco, where Bagley allegedly
walked inside the restaurant with a handgun in his waistband and
demanded money.
After leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash, the
suspects allegedly robbed another Denny's at 2379 Compton Ave. in
Corona, authorities said.
A Corona police sergeant heard the report and spotted the
suspects' vehicle, an older green sedan, in the area, according to
Corona police Sgt. Jon Stofila. He said the sergeant tailed the
vehicle several miles to the Pomona (60) Freeway and Milliken
Avenue in Ontario, where the suspects were pulled over.
Jacqueman, who was driving, exited the car, but as he was
being detained, "Coleman ... jumped behind the wheel and fled" with
the other men, said Stofila.
Corona police pursued the suspects into Rancho Cucamonga,
where California Highway Patrol officers took over the chase,
according to Stofila.
He said Coleman collided with another vehicle, and the
pursuit came to end, with the remaining suspects surrendering
without incident.
Several handguns and long rifles were recovered from the
vehicle, authorities said.
According to Gutierrez, the suspects were expected to be
booked into Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on
suspicion of attempted murder, armed robbery, weapons and parole
violations.