Three are arrested in connection with armed robberies

Three Fresno residents have been arrested in connection with two armed robberies that occurred in San Mateo in early January, including one incident in which the victim was pistolwhipped, authorities said.

The case dates back to Jan. 6, when San Mateo Police Department officers responded to two early-morning robberies within just a few minutes of each other, according to San Mateo Police Department spokesperson Jeanine Luna-Ovalle.

At around 2 a.m. that day, a woman jumped out of a black SUV near East Poplar Avenue and North Humboldt Street and approached a man walking to work, brandishing a gun and demanding his backpack. He complied, but she threatened to shoot him as she ran back to the car where a male driver was waiting, Luna-Ovalle said.

About 10 minutes later, a man walking near 10th Avenue and South El Camino Real — about 2 miles away from the first incident — was approached by a woman matching the same description, Luna-Ovalle said. This time, police said, she snatched the man’s wallet and pistol-whipped him before taking off in the SUV, where a second woman now appeared to be present in addition to the driver.

The man’s injuries were minor, Luna-Ovalle said.

After seeing fraudulent charges on the victims’ credit cards traced to Fresno over the next few days, San Mateo officers identified the trio based off surveillance footage — and also located the second victim’s wallet in the suspect SUV, which had been recently towed in Fresno for an unrelated parking violation.

The three suspects were identified as Candelario Alviar, 23, Marc Rodriguez, 29, and Roxanne Gonzales, 34, all of Fresno.

Then on Jan. 10, Rodriguez and Gonzales were arrested in a different vehicle for unrelated charges, LunaOvalle said. During a search of that car, officers uncovered the weapon suspected to have been used in the Jan. 6 pistol-whipping.

The following week, police issued arrest warrants in connection to the San Mateo robberies — leading to the apprehension of all three suspects Wednesday on suspicion of robbery and related charges.

Rodriguez was arrested while already in custody for the Jan. 10 incident.

All three suspects remain in custody in Fresno.