Three men were behind bars on Thursday, July 25 in connection with the robbery of a Secret Service agent in Tustin.
One of the men is accused of getting out of a silver Infiniti FX35 and demanding at gunpoint the belongings of an off-duty Secret Service Agent in the Tustin Legacy residential community around 9:30 p.m. on June 15, Tustin police said.
The agent managed to draw his service revolver and fire at another suspect, who was “apparently struck by the victim’s gunfire,” Tustin Police Sgt. Ryan Newton said.
President Joe Biden had an event in Los Angeles that evening, but the secret service agent was off-duty at the time of the crime. Police do not believe the agent was targeted, and described the robbery as a random act of violence and crime of opportunity, according to Newton.
The man who got out of the car and made the demand was identified by police as Jamonte Fitzgerald Johnson. The other suspects were Bertran Claude Bell and Eshon Dwayne Dodson, police said.
Johnson is charged with robbery and being a felon in possession of a gun with sentencing enhancements for the personal use of a gun, according to court records. Dodson has been charged with robbery with a sentencing enhancement for being armed with a gun in the commission of a felony.
Bell, who was arrested on suspicion of robbery in Los Angeles on Wednesday, was scheduled to appear in court on Friday, according to jail records.
The suspects, all believed to be in their 30s, could face additional charges later, Newton said.
The suspects ditched some of the items they took from the agent, which were recovered nearby, Newton said. Working with the Orange County Crime Lab, investigators worked up DNA profiles from the evidence, which led to the arrests, Newton said.
Johnson was arrested in Riverside on July 11 with help from parole officials, police said. Dodson was arrested in Watts on July 17.
Johnson and Bell were being held without bail, and Dodson was held on $1 million bail.
City News Service contributed to this report.
