"He's really cool. I don't know," said parishioner Gloria Martinez. "I don't understand why they would want to shoot him or why anybody would want to try to hurt him. I don't know."
Willis Bagley, 38, of Perris; Jacob Buschow, 19, of Pomona; Anthony Coleman, 21, of Chino; Timothy Jacqueman, 18, of Pomona; and Andrew Swindle, 23, of Pomona, are accused of shooting the bishop.
The incident happened at around 10 p.m. Tuesday on the 13400 block of Magnolia Avenue in the unincorporated area of Home Gardens.
According to sheriff's Sgt. Dennis Gutierrez, the suspects on Tuesday afternoon began what would become a 10-hour crime spree, starting at a House of Pancakes in the 18000 block of Gale Avenue in Industry.
After robbing the restaurant around 2:30 p.m., the men proceeded to a Denny's eatery at 1425 Nogales St. in nearby Rowland Heights, where they committed another robbery, Gutierrez said.
He said the suspects held up a Denny's at 3012 Temple Ave. in Pomona at 3:15 p.m.
"This was a very extensive, large-scale crime spree," Gutierrez said.
He said investigators have not been able to account for the men's whereabouts during the roughly six and a half hours between the robbery in Pomona and the shooting outside the church in Home Gardens.
"It's purely speculative, but they could have gone to another restaurant, and it was too busy, so they went by the church," the sergeant said. He said the suspects may have intended to rob the bishop.
After the shooting, the men went to a Denny's restaurant in the 1300 block of Hamner Avenue in Norco, where Bagley allegedly walked inside the restaurant with a handgun in his waistband and demanded money.
After leaving with an undisclosed amount of cash, the suspects allegedly robbed another Denny's at 2379 Compton Ave. in Corona, authorities said.
A Corona police sergeant heard the report and spotted the suspects' vehicle, an older green sedan, in the area, according to Corona police Sgt. Jon Stofila. He said the sergeant tailed the vehicle several miles to the Pomona (60) Freeway and Milliken Avenue in Ontario, where the suspects were pulled over.
Jacqueman, who was driving, exited the car, but as he was being detained, "Coleman ... jumped behind the wheel and fled" with the other men, said Stofila.
Corona police pursued the suspects into Rancho Cucamonga, where California Highway Patrol officers took over the chase, according to Stofila.
He said Coleman collided with another vehicle, and the pursuit came to end, with the remaining suspects surrendering without incident.
Several handguns and long rifles were recovered from the vehicle, authorities said.
In addition to a number of robbery charges that will be filed against them, all will be charged with attempted murder of the bishop.
Police say Bishop Garduno suffered non-life threatening injuries.
The bishop underwent surgery Wednesday morning at Riverside County Regional Medical Center, and is in stable condition.
CNS contributed to this report.
Report Typo |
Send Tip |
Get Alerts | Most Popular
Follow @abc7 on Twitter | Become a fan on Facebook
