August 21, 2014

 

City News Service

 

  

A 34-year-old man was charged this week with posing as a deliveryman in two home invasion robberies in Garden Grove this month. Jerry Cleveland Coleman of Garden Grove made his first appearance in court on Wednesday August 20 when his arraignment was rescheduled for Sept. 12. Coleman was arrested August 15, but investigators are looking for at least two more suspects, according to Garden Grove police.

 

Coleman is accused in an Aug. 11 home invasion robbery in the 13500 block of Merello Street and a break-in in the 8500 block of Hewitt Place. Police suspect there were up to four men involved in the first robbery, and three in the second. In the Merello Street robbery, two teenagers and a 23-year-old woman were home when they heard a knock at the door and saw two men at the door holding flowers as if they were delivery men, according to Garden Grove police and prosecutors. As soon as the door was opened, three armed men rushed in, police said.

 

In the Hewitt Place robbery, the three suspects were holding a large bouquet of balloons, again appearing to pose as delivery men. They zip-tied three children and two adults in their residence after gaining entry through an open garage, according to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office. Coleman allegedly forced the two adults at gunpoint to show him where the valuables in the home were stored, according to prosecutors.

 

Coleman is charged with seven counts each of first-degree robbery, imprisonment by violence or deceit, assault with a semiautomatic firearm and two counts each of dissuading a witness by force or threat and criminal threats, all felonies. Coleman also faces sentencing enhancement allegations for the personal use of a firearm and committing a crime against a vulnerable victim. Coleman could face up to 100 years in prison if convicted at trial.

Category: News