WASHINGTON — Montgomery County police arrested and charged the suspects in a robbery that ended in a pursuit on the Beltway, leaving one person killed.
Miguel A. Ayala-Rivera, 23, Marcio Roney Avila-Castro, 21, Yeruin J. Romero-Rivera, 21, Juan R. Ramirez-Delgado, 34, and a 17-year-old who is being charged as an adult, were arrested and charged in connection to an armed robbery at a Cash Depot Friday.
Multiple armed and masked suspects robbed the check-cashing business in the 11200 block of Georgia Avenue in Silver Spring around 12:35 p.m. yesterday. The suspects fled in a white, Chevy van, Montgomery County police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said.
Shortly before 1 p.m., police saw a vehicle matching the description of the van, traveling in the area of Anne Street and University Boulevard East.
An unmarked police vehicle in the area followed the suspects’ vehicle as it got on the Inner Loop toward College Park.
The suspects’ vehicle crashed into two vehicles — an abandoned vehicle on the right shoulder and a box truck in the right lane of the Inner Loop.
The driver of the van, Juan Carlos Gomez, 37, got out of the vehicle and ran away to elude capture, a police statement said. Gomez was struck by an unmarked police vehicle, operated by Sgt. William Thomas, that was pursuing the suspects. Gomez died from his injuries at the scene. Maryland State Police is investigating the collision.
Officers arrested two people in the van and found multiple firearms inside. After a brief pursuit on foot, officers arrested two other suspects who fled.
After the arrest of the four suspects and upon further investigation, officers arrested Ayala-Rivera Friday night. The five are charged with armed robbery, first-degree assault and use of firearm during commission of a violent felony. Ayala-Rivera was arrested on a charge of armed robbery in connection to a Sept. 22 Exxon gas station robbery on Veirs Mill Road, as well.
The suspects may have been involved in previous robberies in the area — a Sept. 1 robbery of a food truck and a Sept. 22 robbery of a check-cashing convenience store and gas station, both in the Wheaton area near Randolph and Veirs Mill roads, Starks said. “We can’t confirm they are involved, but that’s something investigators are looking at,” he said.
The crash and police response caused Inner Loop lanes to stop after Route 1 in College Park for hours. All lanes reopened around 6:30 p.m. — almost five hours after the initial closures.
Below is the area where the crash and pursuit happened.
WTOP’s Sarah Beth Hensley contributed to this report.
