On June 9, 2020, Sergio Magaña Arechiga (50), was burglarizing a residence in Santa Ana when the 82 year old resident walked in during the burglary. Arechiga assaulted the victim by knocking him to the floor and pinning him to the ground by placing his forearm on the victim’s neck. The suspect threatened to kill the victim’s wife if he did not cooperate. Arechiga then forced the victim into the victim’s car, filled it with stolen items from the residence, and drove the victim around for several hours. Arechiga drove to various locations, forcing the victim to withdraw money from an ATM, and various other places to buy Arechiga food, alcohol and clothing.

The victim’s family received alerts about unusual activity on the victim’s credit card and contacted police. The victim’s son tracked his location via his cell phone and located the victim sitting in the passenger seat of his vehicle in the area of 1st/Harbor. Arechiga had exited the vehicle just prior to the son’s arrival.

Using investigative leads, SAPD robbery detectives quickly identified Arechiga and began searching for him. On June 12th, patrol officers located and arrested Arechiga at a family member’s home on a disturbance call. Arechiga had some of the victim’s property in his possession.

Arechiga is currently in custody and the District Attorney’s office has filed robbery and kidnapping charges. His bail is set at $1,300,000.

Arechiga has a criminal record spanning over 30 years with prior arrests for robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a peace officer. Arechiga is a three strike candidate and a documented Santa Ana gang member.
The victim’s family received alerts about unusual activity on the victim’s credit card and contacted police. The victim’s son tracked his location via his cell phone and located the victim sitting in the passenger seat of his vehicle in the area of 1st/Harbor. Arechiga had exited the vehicle just prior to the son’s arrival.

Using investigative leads, SAPD robbery detectives quickly identified Arechiga and began searching for him. On June 12th, patrol officers located and arrested Arechiga at a family member’s home on a disturbance call. Arechiga had some of the victim’s property in his possession.

Arechiga is currently in custody and the District Attorney’s office has filed robbery and kidnapping charges. His bail is set at $1,300,000.

Arechiga has a criminal record spanning over 30 years with prior arrests for robbery, assault with a deadly weapon and assault on a peace officer. Arechiga is a three strike candidate and a documented Santa Ana gang member.