Detectives have arrested a suspect on suspicion of shooting a man in the back multiple times during a robbery in Barstow last week, police said.
Devontea Lashawn Cole, 31, of Barstow is accused of attempted murder, robbery and being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department jail records. He also faces a sentence-enhancing allegation of participating in a street gang.
The violent robbery unfolded about 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 9, in the 700 block of East Virginia Way, Barstow Police Department officials said.
The 47-year-old victim was pistol-whipped, robbed of jewelry and repeatedly shot, police said in in a written statement. The badly wounded man was flown to a trauma center for treatment.
Investigators interviewed witnesses, as well as gathered surveillance camera footage and other evidence, leading them to identity Cole as a suspect in the attack, officials said.
“Evidence showed that Cole pistol-whipped the victim, held the gun to the victim’s head while demanding his jewelry, and ultimately shot the victim several times in the back at close range,” the statement said.
Police apprehended the suspect shortly after 11:30 a.m., roughly seven hours after the robbery, at a home in the 500 block of East Virginia Way, according to police and booking records.
Bail for Cole was set at $2 million.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Man repeatedly shot in the back during robbery in Barstow, suspect jailed
Reporting by Brian Day, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
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