Two convicted felons accused of perpetrating a robbery in Perris during which shots were fired at several people were charged Friday with armed robbery and other offenses.
Daniel Brandon Gonzalez, 21, and Ethan Michael Morris, 22, both of Perris, were arrested separately earlier this week following a Riverside County Sheriff’s Department investigation.
Morris is charged with two counts of armed robbery, probation violations and a sentence-enhancing allegation of engaging in violent conduct.
He’s being held in lieu of $1 million bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta and was slated to make his initial court appearance Friday afternoon at the Riverside Hall of Justice.
Gonzalez is charged with two counts of armed robbery and one count each of attempted murder, firearm assault, being a felon in possession of a gun and parole violations. He’s being held without bail at the Robert Presley Jail and was slated to make his initial court appearance at the downtown Riverside courthouse Monday.
According to sheriff’s Sgt. Chad Thompson, the pair confronted several people, whose identities were not released, shortly after 8 p.m. last Friday at a business in the 500 block of West Fourth Street, near Park Avenue.
During the encounter, Gonzalez allegedly pulled a handgun and demanded money from the victims, then shot at one of them but missed. The man was not injured.
The defendants allegedly fled the location.
The case was turned over to detectives, who spent the ensuing days developing leads that ultimately pointed to Gonzalez and Morris as the alleged robbers.
On Wednesday, a search warrant was served on Gonzalez at a property in the 300 block of West Third Street, where “items of evidentiary value were located, along with three firearms,” Thompson said.
The defendant was taken into custody without incident.
Morris was arrested Tuesday after he was questioned by investigators at the sheriff’s Perris station.
According to court records, he has a prior conviction for assault resulting in great bodily injury.
Records show that Gonzalez has priors for domestic violence and assault.