The following is a press release issued by the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office. The information has not been proven in a court of law and any individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty:
UPDATED PRESS RELEASE (12-13-22):
During the course of this investigation, Matias Tomas Vietto was identified as being the suspect in this case.
Sheriff’s Detectives learned Vietto told friends that he was leaving California to return to his country of origin, Argentina. Using this information, Sheriff’s Detectives discovered Vietto had an international flight booked from the state of New York to Argentina on the evening of 12-10-2022.
An arrest warrant was obtained for Vietto and New York law enforcement authorities were alerted.
On 12-12-2022 at approximately 9:00 PM (Eastern Standard Time), Vietto was arrested by the New York Police Department attempting to travel to Argentina.
Vietto will be held in New York pending extraditation back to Mendocino County.
ORIGINAL PRESS RELEASE:
On 12-09-2022 at 2:40 PM Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies were dispatched to a reported arm robbery at the Mi Esperanza Market located at 14289 Highway 128 in Boonville, California.
It was reported a person, possibly an adult male, had entered the business with a handgun and committed an armed robbery of a large amount of money, estimated to be $20,000.00, before leaving the business on foot.
Personnel from the California Highway Patrol and California State Parks arrived approximately 13-minutes after the call had been dispatched to the Deputies. They began a canvas of the immediate area for the suspect which ended unsuccessfully.
Deputies, along with Sheriff’s Detectives, arrived and began investigations into the circumstances of the armed robbery.
Investigators learned the suspect had entered the business at approximately 2:35 PM fully clothed to include a facial covering while an adult female was working alone inside the business.
The suspect was openly holding a handgun downwards near their waistline. The suspect made a hand gesture for the adult female to be silent as he walked behind the counter. The suspect accessed a cash drawer and took a large amount of money thereafter leaving the business on foot.
Sheriff’s Office investigators are actively investigating this armed robbery and have viable leads at this time. To protect the integrity of those leads, no further information is available for public release at this time.
Anyone who believes they have useful information for investigators associated with this incident are asked to contact the Sheriff’s Office Tipline by calling 707-234-2100 or the WeTip Anonymous Crime Reporting Hotline by calling 800-782-7463.
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hmm…still very suspicious that there was $20,000 on hand. The robber must have known. There is more to the story
They do check cashing, money orders, money grams, etc. $20k is not that much money when it comes to household bills. It’s only about 10 resident’s rents and utilities.
that makes sense. I wonder if this guy knew because he had cashed a pay check and saw that they kept that much on hand
Ok but WHY NOT PUT IT IN A SAFE?
Small town, undocumented migrant workers that cash their paychecks weekly. Ignorant people who know nothing of small town life need a muzzle!
Damnnnnn