Robbery Suspect Arrested on Elementary School Campus

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Story updated at 2:45 p.m. with additional information:

Harvest Valley Elementary School in Menifee was placed on lockdown and students locked inside classrooms while police pursued and arrested a robbery suspect who ran onto the campus today, according to Sheriff's Department officials.

A strong arm robbery was reported at 10:15 a.m. in the 26900 block of Newport Road near Bradley Road in Menifee, police said. Two victims had their purses stolen by force. About 30 minutes later, deputies observed a vehicle matching the description of the suspect vehicle several miles away at Highway 74 and Briggs Road in the Romoland community of Menifee.

Officers stopped the vehicle and the driver yielded. During the stop, one of the occupants of the vehicle ran off while simulating a handgun. The suspect jumped the fence onto the campus of Harvest Valley Elementary School, adjacent to the Marion Ashley Center at Watson Road and Briggs Road.

Students were on the playground at the time and were moved inside classrooms. The school was immediately placed on lockdown. Officers gave chase and apprehended the suspect on campus immediately. An extensive search of the campus and surrounding area by a K9 team, patrol officers, and the Sheriff's airship confirmed there were no firearms on campus.

The lockdown lasted about an hour and 15 minutes and was lifted about 12:15 p.m. No students or staff members were harmed during the incident and school was dismissed at the normal hour.

Three suspects were arrested in connection with the incident: Samuel Perez, 26, James Brady, 30, and Rachel Fiore, 26, all of Hemet. They were booked into the county jail on suspicion of the robbery and other related charges.

Dr. Julie Vitale, superintendent of the Romoland School District, said she was told by police that the suspect was unarmed. After inspecting the site following the lockdown, she said it appears the suspect jumped a fence and got 50-70 yards onto campus before he was taken down by police.

"Students were on the playground during recess, but they were moved into the classrooms within about 30 seconds," Vitale said. "There were noon duty supervisors and some teachers on the playground with the students. They immediately shouted to the students to go inside classrooms and pointed the direction for them to go.

"This is something we do a lot of training for. I talked to a couple of the teachers, and they were very pleased with the reaction of the students, who responded immediately. It went down exactly like a drill."

Vitale said it didn't appear that the suspect got near any students or ever made an effort to do so.

"He wasn't trying to mix with the kids," she said. "He was running from the police."

This is an active investigation. Anyone having information regarding this incident is encouraged to call the Menifee Police Department at 951-210-1000 or 951-776-1099 (24-hours).