Frankie Hernandez, 21, left, and River Robison, 20, were arrested Thursday, July 9, in Colton on suspicion of committing at least 15 holdups at convenience stores, gas stations and a motel across Riverside and San Bernardino counties.
The discovery of a single fingerprint led to two arrests that Fontana police say has solved at least 15 holdups at businesses in San Bernardino and Riverside counties. SWAT officers apprehended 20-year-old River Robison and 21-year-old Frankie Hernandez Thursday afternoon, July 9, at a Colton restaurant, Fontana police spokeswoman Martha Guzman-Hurtado said in a written statement. Following the arrests, investigators found a President Obama mask and a gas mask similar to the ones used in some of the robberies committed between May 29 and Thursday, according to the statement. RELATED: Men in Obama mask, gas mask hold up Corona gas station Thursday The pair is suspected of holding up convenience stores, gas stations and a motel in Colton, Fontana, Temecula, Corona, Riverside, Beaumont, Victorville, Moreno Valley, San Bernardino and Menifee. When questioned, Hernandez and Robison confessed to 15 holdups, Guzman-Hurtado wrote. The first lead came June 23 when Officer John Cory found a fingerprint at a convenience store that had just been held up in Fontana. On July 2, the San Bernardino County Crime Lab identified that print as belonging to Hernandez, investigators say. Fontana police and other law enforcement agencies met July 7 to share information and investigators identified the pair as their primary suspects in 10 holdups. SWAT officers from Fontana and Riverside began searching for the pair. Twice-daily progress reports were shared among all the involved police agencies. On Thursday, Colton Detective Rob Wilson spotted Robison and Hernandez entering a restaurant in that city. Fontana SWAT officers staked out the building, and the pair was arrested as they tried to leave. Robison was found with the Obama mask and a loaded gun, investigators said. A search warrant was then served at a Moreno Valley room rented by Robison, where investigators say they found the gas mask -- and 150 pot plants.