A Virginia man has been accused of opening fire from his sport utility vehicle at a Prince William County grocery store employee who was chasing him in his car after the armed robbery of Platanillos Grocery. Authorities say Jesus Garcia-Guinea drove the getaway car and fired at the employee after three other men pulled guns on store employees, beat one of them when he resisted, and then stole $40,000 and jewelry on Dec. 19. Gun charges against Garcia-Guinea were filed in Alexandria’s federal court on Friday, but he was taken into custody four days after the robbery after calling police from a D.C. convenience store and claiming he had been kidnapped, court documents said.
According to the FBI, three armed men robbed the Woodbridge store about 6:30 p.m. Dec. 19, targeting not only the jewelry and the cash register but also the store’s Western Union cash. They put guns to the employees’ heads and when one resisted, he was beaten.
The three men then left and jumped into a blue 2003 Ford Explorer, authorities said. Before they could drive away, one of the store’s employees raced out and jotted down the SUV’s license plate. He then jumped in his own vehicle and tried to follow the robbers. Someone in the SUV then fired a handgun at the employee’s car, shattering the windshield on the passenger side. The employee said he slammed into the SUV three times before the robbers drove away.
Police found the badly damaged Explorer on the Route 123 ramp to northbound Interstate 95, according to court documents. Inside was a 9mm Luger pistol and trays of jewelry that belonged to the grocery store.
Authorities traced the SUV to Garcia-Guinea’s girlfriend in the District. She said he had left the day of the robbery with the SUV, telling her he was going to work. She thought it “unusual” because he left without his work boots, documents said.
On Dec. 23, Garcia-Guinea was arrested at a D.C. convenience store that he claimed to have walked to after being dropped off by captors. Authorities said he was wearing socks, but they weren’t dirty. When questioned by authorities, Garcia-Guinea reportedly said the robbers kidnapped him outside the store and forced him to drive them away from the scene at gunpoint. He said he purposely crashed the SUV on the ramp, but they had another car ready to take them away.
