SANTA ANA, CA – George Arizon, 28, of Corona, will spend the next 12 years in federal prison after being sentenced for a brazen spree of ten armed robberies that terrorized Orange County businesses over just two days in late 2022. U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney handed down the 144-month sentence Monday, also ordering Arizon to pay $3,658 in restitution to his victims.
The crime wave began November 8, 2022, culminating in the robbery of a 7-Eleven in Westminster. According to court documents, Arizon brandished a semi-automatic handgun, threatening a store employee who complied, handing over $80 in cash and two packs of cigarettes. This was the tenth and final strike in a calculated campaign of fear.
But the 7-Eleven wasn’t an isolated incident. Arizon admitted to robbing eight restaurants and one hair salon in Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Westminster during the same two-day period. In each case, he used the same tactic: a firearm, wielded to intimidate and control employees while he emptied their registers. The total take from the entire spree amounted to $3,658 – a paltry sum for the terror inflicted.
Law enforcement quickly zeroed in on Arizon after responding to multiple robbery calls. Officers recovered key pieces of evidence, including a black sweatshirt, hat, and mask matching the apparel seen in security footage. Crucially, they also found the black semi-automatic handgun, with a distinctive gold-colored barrel, discarded near the scene of one of the robberies. This “ghost gun,” as prosecutors termed it, became a central piece of the case.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led the investigation, with vital assistance from the Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Westminster Police Departments. The sentencing memorandum revealed a disturbing picture of Arizon’s home life, with investigators uncovering another firearm, ammunition, high-capacity magazines, spent shell casings, and drugs during a search of his residence. “He repeatedly pointed a ghost gun at victims to force them to hand over the stores’ money,” prosecutors wrote, highlighting the reckless disregard for human life.
Arizon pleaded guilty in August 2023 to one count of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act) and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jena A. MacCabe of the Violent and Organized Crime Section secured the conviction and sentencing, bringing a measure of closure to the businesses and residents of Orange County impacted by Arizon’s violent actions. The case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by armed robbery and the commitment of federal agencies to prosecute such crimes to the fullest extent of the law.
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Key Facts
- Agency: ATF
- Category: Weapons|Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Press Release
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