Update: Adult suspects identified after house party robbing
Update posted July 22, 6:45 a.m.
Albert Charles Heinicke, Jr., 18, of Avila Beach, and Donovan James Alvord, 19, of Templeton.
GPS, phone ‘pinging’ app helped officers quickly locate and capture suspects
–The Sheriff’s Office is releasing additional information regarding a home invasion robbery on Tuesday in the 4700 block of See Ranch Lane in rural Templeton.
When sheriff’s dispatch received the first 911 call regarding the incident, the caller was not familiar with the location or address of the home. The Sheriff’s Communications Center immediately began trying to locate the phone by using GPS technology. Once they discovered the longitude and latitude coordinates, they were able to use available technology to locate a probable address and begin sending all available units to that location. By doing this, they were able to save minutes in response time to the incident.
As deputies were responding to the scene, they were alerted that the suspects had stolen a white “Mercedes” from the home. As Deputies proceeded to the location, a white “BMW” traveling at a high rate of speed was driving in the opposite direction on Highway 46 West. Not knowing if that was the suspect vehicle, the deputies made a split-second decision to stop the car. When they did, they were able to locate three of the suspects and several stolen cellphones. Two of the victims in this case were able to help law enforcement by “pinging” or tracking their stolen cellphones. One phone was pinged and located in a suspect vehicle which was abandoned at Vineyard Elementary School in Templeton. Another cellphone was pinged by a family member. They provided the location of the cellphone to the sheriff’s office which led detectives to the 5000 block of Olmeda Avenue in Atascadero. That’s where the fourth suspect was apprehended along with the recovery of some of the stolen items.
The suspects have been identified as Donovan James Alvord, 19, of Templeton, Albert Charles Heinicke, Jr., 18, of Avila Beach, and two, 17-year-old males from Atascadero.
An additional charge of kidnapping to commit robbery with great bodily injury has been filed against the two adults in this case which raises their bail amount to $1,150,000.
Original story posted July 21
Fifth suspect is believed to be outstanding
–On Sunday, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call from a person who reported that he and about 20 other teenagers and young adults who had been attending a party in the 4700 block of See Ranch Lane in Templeton had been the victims of a home invasion robbery.
According to witnesses, three to five suspects entered the home, fired shots into the air and then ordered everyone to the floor. The suspects were dressed all in black with bandanas wrapped around their faces. The suspects proceeded to take several victims’ cell phones and wallets. The suspects then took off in their vehicle as well as two of the victim’s vehicles, a white BMW and a white Chevy pickup truck, according to the sheriff’s office.
As deputies were responding to the scene, a BMW traveling at a high rate of speed was driving in the opposite direction on Highway 46 West. Deputies initiated a traffic stop on the car and were able to detain three of the suspects and recover several of the stolen cellphones. At approximately the same time, Atascadero Police located the pick up truck abandoned in the River Gardens area of Atascadero. During the course of the investigation, sheriff’s detectives were able to locate one of the stolen cellphones at a home in the 5000 block of Olmeda Avenue in Atascadero where they also located a fourth suspect. A fifth suspect is believed to be outstanding.
During the robbery, two male victims were physically assaulted with a blunt force object. Both were taken to a nearby hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.
The suspects have been identified as 19-year-old Donovan James Alvord of Templeton, 18-year-old Albert Charles Heinicke, Jr. of Avila Beach, and two 17-year-old male juveniles.
The suspects were arrested for numerous charges including kidnapping, false imprisonment, robbery in an inhabited dwelling, assault with a deadly weapon with a semiautomatic handgun, burglary, conspiracy to commit robbery, discharging a firearm in a grossly negligent manner and an enhancement for use of a firearm in a commission of a violent felony.
