Police have arrested a Los Angeles man accused of at least six armed robberies that occurred in Santa Monica last month.
Saul Garcia Cuevas, 30, was arrested March 9, after investigators from the Santa Monica Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department linked him to several armed robberies in the area, said Lt. Frank Fabrega.
A joint investigation between the two departments launched on Feb. 22 linked Cuevas to several robberies in Santa Monica and the San Fernando Valley, Fabrega said.
Evidence recovered at one of the crime scenes in Santa Monica was processed through the state’s identification system, which led police to Cuevas.
“It was a good piece of work from our forensics section,” Fabrega said. “It was our information at the crime scene that led to the investigation.”
A surveillance team found evidence in Cuevas’ home and car that connected him to the robberies in Los Angeles and Santa Monica.
The Los Angeles District Attorney’s office on Tuesday filed 28 counts of robbery and two counts of kidnapping against Cuevas. He is currently being held in the Los Angeles County Jail on $5 million bail.
Cuevas allegedly used a handgun during the armed robberies. Police would not reveal which businesses Cuevas allegedly robbed because they are part of the ongoing investigation.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 14, 2002. Read the original PDF.