A man and a woman were arrested the afternoon of Jan. 12 in connection with the armed robbery of Jamba Juice in Scotts Valley two days earlier.
According to reports, a masked man described as unshaven and in his 20s entered the smoothie shop at 6:15 p.m. Jan. 10, showed a gun and demanded money. The man then emptied three cash registers and fled the scene. No one was injured.
Ben Lomond residents Rory Wayne McGuigen, 31, and Joy Thirza Greenburg, 28, were named as suspects and later arrested in connection to the robbery.
Scotts Valley Police Department investigators found that a security camera of an adjacent business had captured the license plates of what appeared to be the getaway vehicle after the robbery.
According to Lt. John Hohmann, Scotts Valley officers were en route to the suspects’ home at noon Wednesday to await the approval of a warrant when they spotted the couple’s blue 2000 Honda Accord traveling on Highway 9.
Officers caught up to the car in Scotts Valley near the intersection of Carbonero Way and Scotts Valley Drive.
Both McGuigen and Greenburg were arrested in what officers called a “high risk” traffic stop, because there had been a weapon involved in the robbery.
A search of their home later revealed a plastic replica of a semiautomatic handgun, a ski mask, a money bag and a jacket that reportedly matched the one worn by the robber.
Police said the stolen money was not recovered and had already been spent.
Hohmann said there was no evidence of drugs in the home and described the crime as “out of desperation and need for money.”
Police also alleged that the couple’s two children, ages 4 and 1, were in the vehicle at the time of the robbery and when McGuigen and Greenburg were arrested.
McGuigen and Greenburg were booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on Jan. 12 on suspicion of second-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime and child endangerment. Bail was set at $50,000 each.
The children were turned over to Child Protective Services and placed in temporary foster care.
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