La Quinta Man Connected To Cold Stone Robbery

A 31-year-old man accused in a string of nearly 80 robberies across Riverside County has been linked to the robbery of in Palm Desert, a sheriff's captain said.

Sergio Lopez of La Quinta is suspected in the Feb. 9 robbery of the ice cream shop at 36957 Cook St., according to Capt. Dan Wilham of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

Lopez has also been connected to more than 70 robberies since October from Temecula to Coachella, across nearly 20 cities.

“It’s unprecedented,’’ Wilham told Patch. “I can’t remember in my 26 years where we have had this many actual robberies occur by the same suspect before he was apprehended.”

In the Palm Desert case, Lopez allegedly entered the Cold Stone with his face covered and forced the employees into the store’s freezer, according to a sheriff’s official.

The suspect allegedly took the employee’s personal property and an undisclosed amount of cash. About 15 minutes after the robbery, some customers arrived and found the employees in the freezer.

Sheriff's Sgt. Don Williamson said Lopez was taken into custody May 11 in Indio after he was identified as the suspect in an April robbery of an Anna's Linens store, Williamson said.

Lopez has a criminal record, spanning back to June 1993 when he was convicted of murder in Los Angeles County as a teenager.

He is a reputed gang member, according to court documents.

In an interview with sheriff’s Investigator Matt Diaz following his arrest, Lopez admitted to nine of the 79 robberies.

The suspect acknowledged he was unemployed and “used these robberies to fund his lifestyle,’’ Diaz said.