Two men have been charged in Santa Clara County Superior Court with a month-long spree in which they held up at least seven San Jose small businesses – mostly smoke shops – stealing cash, cell phones and cigars, at gunpoint, District Attorney Jeff Rosen announced today.
In one of the store robberies, one of the suspects held a gun on a customer while another ripped away the victim’s cell phone, pulling her out of her wheelchair, according to the district attorney.
The defendants have been arraigned on multiple felony armed robbery charges:
- Vayshawd Beverly, 19, of Ceres, was arrested by San Jose Police last week in Fresno. He was arraigned May 17. The court reduced bail from $2 million to $250,000 over the prosecutor’s objections.
- Juan Gomez, also known as Eliazar Alvarez, 22, of East Palo Alto, was arrested in February and arraigned in March. He is in custody on $2 million bail.
“These men rode around this city, threatening innocent people and endangering lives,” Rosen said in a statement.
The spree began earlier this year, he said. Here are the allegations, according to prosecutors:
On Jan. 28, Beverly and Gomez, along with two other individuals, robbed Sharkey Smoke Shop on Senter Road in San Jose. Thirty minutes later, the same group robbed three people at 99 Foot Spa located on West San Carlos Street in San Jose.
On Feb. 7, Beverly and Gomez robbed the Kwikee Mart located on McKee Road in San Jose. The next day, Beverly and Gomez, along with a third suspect, robbed the Berryessa Smoke Shop on Berryessa Road in San Jose
On Feb.8, Gomez and two other suspects robbed the McKee Smoke Shop on McKee Road in San Jose. Six days later, on Feb. 24, Beverly and Gomez, along with a third individual, robbed the Santa Clara Smoke Shop on East Santa Clara Street in San Jose. Three days after that, the pair plus another individual robbed the Discount Cigarettes and Cigars store on McKee Road in San Jose.
