Three arrested in Santa Rosa armed robbery

A Santa Rosa man who stepped outside his apartment for a cigarette early Sunday morning was robbed of a family heirloom.

But less than 30 minutes after the robbery, two suspects were arrested and the unidentified man later got his piece of jewelry back.

The victim told authorities he was outside his apartment in the Vineyard Creek complex just south of Airport Boulevard around 2:30 a.m. when two men wearing hooded sweatshirts approached him, one brandishing a handgun and the other a hunting knife, Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Travis Koeppel said.

They demanded he turn over the piece of jewelry and then ran away with it.

CHP Sgt. Blair Hardcastle was in the area when the call came in a little after 2:30 a.m. and heard deputies responding to an armed robbery. They were joined by more CHP officers and deputies.

The victim described the suspects and indicated they may still be in the apartment complex, driving a small silver car.

Two CHP officers spotted the vehicle with two men inside as it was driving away and pulled them over. The men were detained until the victim was brought to identify them, CHP Officer Jon Sloat said.

The suspects were stopped 25 minutes after the robbery, Sloat said.

An interview with the suspects led to a third suspect, a 17-year-old boy who lived in the same apartment complex, who was on probation for a previous offense. Officers searched his apartment and found the stolen jewelry as well as a gun believed to have been used in the crime, Koeppel said.

Gabriel James Torres-Madeiros, 19, of Windsor, and Luis Ramon Estrada-Sanchez, 21, of Cotati were booked into Sonoma County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery. The 17-year-old was taken to Juvenile Hall. Koeppel said all three were known gang members.

You can reach Staff Writer Meg McConahey at Meg.McConahey@pressdemocrat.com or 707-521-5204.