Police nab suspects in attempted robbery

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- Police arrested three men Wednesday in connection with

an attempted armed robbery in a South Coast Plaza jewelry store more than

a year ago, officials said.

Raul Camacho Dorado, 26, and Antonio Alejandro Deltoro, 28, both of

Santa Ana, and Angel Uriostegui, 29, of Irvine were arrested on suspicion

of attempted robbery at Tiffany and Co. the night of May 8, 2001, said

Costa Mesa Police Lt. Dale Birney.

The arrests Wednesday were a result of a yearlong investigation that

led detectives to Uriostegui, who was employed as a security guard at the

jewelry store at the time of the incident, he said. He, however, was not

in the store the night the alleged incident happened. Police said he was

involved with the other two men in planning the robbery.

About 9:15 p.m. May 8, 2001, Dorado and Deltoro accosted two employees

who were leaving the store after locking it up, police said. They pointed

a handgun at the employees, led them back to the store and asked them to

open it, but a security guard inside refused to let them in and called

for assistance, Birney said.

Dorado and Deltoro ran from the scene, and one of them dropped his

weapon while running and stopped to pick it up, he said. They left the

scene and were not caught, Birney said.

He said investigators suspected a store employee may have had a hand

in the crime.

“Any time we have a crime like this, there is a suspicion that

somebody’s involved on the inside,” Birney said. “We interviewed several

employees, and that led us to the security guard.”

He declined to go into details of the investigation and circumstances

leading to the arrest pending a criminal case, but said search warrants

were obtained to inspect the homes of all three men. Police found three

handguns in the search. Detectives are still investigating if these men

were involved in other similar incidents, Birney said.

All three men were booked into Costa Mesa Jail with bail set at

$50,000. Dorado and Uriostegui were bailed out Thursday while Deltoro

still awaits arraignment.

* Deepa Bharath covers public safety and courts. She may be reached at

(949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at o7 deepa.bharath@latimes.comf7 .