Winton man arrested in two Merced robberies

A 23-year-old Winton man was arrested earlier this week in connection with two recent robberies in Merced, the Police Department reported Thursday.

Angelo Marcos Pineida was booked Tuesday at the Merced County jail on a probation violation. He was arrested at the Siesta Motel on West 16th Street and later admitted his role in two robberies earlier this month, police said in a news release.

“Pineida admitted he was using drugs and needed money to put a roof over his head. He later tried to blame the victims, stating they looked at him wrong and antagonized him,” Sgt. Scott Skinner said in the release. “Pineida would not say what he did with the victim’s property unless he was released.”

Police plan to seek felony strong-armed robbery charges against Pineida.

The first incident was reported about 8:30 p.m. March 11 on West 16th Street, when a man waiting for a bus was assaulted while talking on his cellphone. The suspect, later identified by police as Pineida, took the man’s phone and fled, police said.

The victim was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated and released.

Less than 12 hours later, according to police, another man was assaulted just before 6 a.m. in the 1300 block of West Main Street.

“The victim advised he was approached by the suspect, who asked him to use his phone,” police said. “The suspect then immediately started to assault the victim. As the victim was knocked to the ground, the suspect continued kicking the victim.”

The victim said the suspect took his cellphone, cash and ATM card and fled. Both victims provided the same description of the suspect. The victim was taken to the hospital with two broken jaws.

Pineida has prior arrests for possession of narcotics, assault and thefts, police said.

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 2:52 PM with the headline "Winton man arrested in two Merced robberies."