LOS ANGELES — Two people were arrested Friday in a series of shootings and robberies at 7-Eleven stores in Southern California that left two dead and three injured, authorities said.
“It was a reign of terror,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said at a Friday news conference.
Malike Patt, 20, and Jason Payne, 44, were arrested in Los Angeles during the frenzy that unfolded for more than five hours Monday morning in San Bernardino, Orange and Riverside counties, police said .
Two people were killed – Matthew Hirsch, 40, an employee of a Brea 7-Eleven, and Matthew Rule, 24, who was shot outside a Santa Ana store, police said.
Santa Ana police have called Patt a “prime suspect” and believe he is the masked man seen in surveillance video from one of the robberies.
Investigators believe there is a connection between Patt and Payne, but “exactly what they did and when, it will all continue to come together,” Santa Ana Police Chief David Valentin said.
Patt was being held without bail, officials said. Payne was injured during the arrest and received treatment, Valentin said. He said the injury was not from a shooting but from “minor use of force”, he said.
It was not immediately clear whether either had an attorney who could speak on their behalf. Charges have not yet been filed.
A July 9 murder in Los Angeles is also believed to be linked, Los Angeles Police Department Deputy Chief Alan Hamilton said.
“We believe there are a number of crimes in the Los Angeles area that will also be linked to this suspect,” Hamilton said.
The robbery and shootings on Monday — July 11 or 7/11 — happened the same day the company was handing out free Slurpees.
The violence prompted 7-Eleven to ask all Los Angeles-area stores to close Monday night. The company also offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
From just after midnight to just before 5 a.m. Monday, there were seven armed robberies in San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties. Most involved 7-Elevens, but a Yum Yum Donuts was also stolen, police said.
Rule was found shot dead outside a 7-Eleven in Santa Ana at 3:23 a.m., police said. Valentin said the shooter was looking to rob someone else, and “this innocent victim stepped in and tried to redirect the suspect.”
Hirsch was shot and killed at 4:18 a.m. in Brea, about 10 miles north of Santa Ana, police said.
Two people were also shot and wounded during a robbery in La Habra, a town directly west of Brea, shortly before 5 a.m., officials said.
Officials did not say what led them to identify Patt and Payne.
Spitzer, the district attorney, said the charges would be assessed and that with the scale of potential crimes in Los Angeles, “we have to connect a lot of the dots.”
He said he plans to file murder charges for both murders as early as Monday.
Hirsch’s father, James Hirsch, said Monday he was speechless at news of the arrest and had made arrangements for his son, Avresco Los Angeles reported.
“I just hope he gets justice and he doesn’t get clemency,” James Hirsch said.
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