Man pleads guilty to armed robberies at Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside county pharmacies
A Fontana man has pleaded guilty to his part in a crew that committed armed robberies at pharmacies across Southern California.
Aaron Carter, 39, entered his plea in Los Angeles federal court on Friday. He faces counts of interference with commerce by robbery and using a firearm in a crime of violence, according to court documents.
According to his plea agreement, Carter and four others robbed pharmacies in Newport Beach, Woodland Hills, Temecula and Fullerton in August and September in 2024. They also attempted to rob two of the same stores in October that year.
Investigators with a violent crime task force in Orange County, which works with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, had been investigating pharmacy heists across the region, said an affidavit in the case. They say that three male suspects wearing hoodies and face masks entered the pharmacies during each incident.
Prosecutors said that two of the suspects, each armed with a gun, would force employees to the ground while they stole crash from the registers. At the same time, a third suspect would use a trash can from inside the pharmacies and load it with stolen drugs.
They further noted that the same group returned to a Woodland Hills pharmacy in October, which they had previously robbed, but the employees prevented them from entering upon recognizing them. Instead, they fled from the area.
A week later, prosecutors said that two members of the crew attempted to rob the same Temecula store they had previously targeted, but store employees told them they didn't have access to either the safe or the drugs they were demanding.
After this failed attempt, authorities attempted to arrest the suspects, but they drove away at high speeds. After fleeing for some time, they crashed into an unmarked patrol car. All four were arrested without further incident.
Carter was charged in Oct. 2024, as was Diamond Lucious, 26, of Victorville, 35-year-old San Bernardino resident Isaac Penaldoza, and 25-year-old Menifee resident Kamaria Kendrick.
Lucious and Penaldoza pleaded guilty in June to the same charges as Carter. They both will be sentenced in September. Kendrick pleaded guilty earlier in August and is scheduled for sentencing in November.
