SLO County school custodian robbed, physically assaulted by 5 kids, police say
Four minors from Santa Maria were arrested Tuesday night on suspicion of assaulting and robbing a custodian at Arroyo Grande High School, police said.
At approximately 7:40pm Tuesday, five juveniles between the ages of 13 and 16 approached the custodian near the campus tennis courts, at the intersection of West Cherry Street and California Street, according to a news release from the Arroyo Grande Police Department.
The kids physically assaulted the custodian and stole “several items of personal property,” the release says, before the suspects fled in a grey, four-door sedan.
Arroyo Grande police officers and detectives worked with high school administrators in an effort to identify the suspects.
During their investigation, authorities learned that earlier in the day, the Santa Maria Police Department had investigated a “crime spree” where several robberies and a carjacking occurred in their jurisdiction, the news release said.
Police in Santa Maria located the allegedly stolen vehicle and a chase ensued on northbound on Highway 101, the release said.
Santa Maria police terminated the pursuit, and the suspects are thought to have exited the freeway and driven to the high school, police said, where they allegedly assaulted and robbed the custodian.
Four of the five suspects were located later that night in Santa Maria and taken into custody, police said.
Asked about the fifth suspect, Arroyo Grande Cmdr. Shawn Cosgrove said Wednesday that the department is still investigating the incident before releasing any information about the juvenile.
The custodian’s personal property was located in the juveniles’ possession and in the allegedly stolen vehicle, according to the release.
The school employee was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a local hospital, according to police.
Arroyo Grande police say there is no connection between the high school or the games that were occurring at the time of the robbery.
The police department says it will recommend that the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney’s Office file charges of robbery and assault with a deadly weapon against the suspects.
This story was originally published January 29, 2020 at 10:37 AM.
