Menifee woman among four charged with armed robbery

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A Menifee woman was among four individuals charged for their alleged involvement in a six-week series of armed robberies of pharmacies across Southern California, authorities said.

Kamaria Kendrick, 25, was among those charged with attempted interference with commerce by robbery, according to a new release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The others were Aaron Carter, 39, of Fontana; Diamond Lucious, 25, of Victorville; and Isaac Penaldoza, 35, of San Bernardino. They were arrested after the latest incident, which occurred Monday in Temecula.

According to the complaint affidavit, the four suspects were involved in an armed robbery attempt Monday at the Apollo Pharmacy on Rancho California Road in Temecula. The complaint alleges that Kendrick walked around the building while on her phone, then drove around the building several times. After that, Kendrick waited in the car while Carter, Lucious and Penaldoza entered the pharmacy wearing hooded clothing, gloves, and masks.

Surveillance video shows that the three “allegedly jumped over the counter and Lucious and Penaldoza brandished guns at employees, yelled at the employees, and then grabbed the employees and forced them to lie on the ground. Carter went directly to the safe in the back of the store and Penaldoza allegedly forced an employee at gunpoint to walk towards the safe. After an employee said that there was nothing in the safe, Carter, Lucious, and Penaldoza allegedly fled to the getaway car driven by Kendrick.”

As agents with the Orange County Violent Crime Task Force attempted to arrest the suspects, Kendrick allegedly tried to evade them and struck one of the unmarked law enforcement vehicles. As law enforcement immobilized the getaway car, a 9mm pistol fell out of the vehicle. The four suspects were arrested without incident.

Agents have been investigating a series of such incidents in Woodland Hills, Temecula, Newport Beach, and Fullerton for six weeks, according to the news release. Carter, Lucious, and Penaldoza are not legally permitted to possess firearms because they have all been previously convicted of multiple felonies.