Pittsburg Man Arrested in Connection with 7-Eleven Robbery

The Navato Police Department have identified a Pittsburg man in connection with an April 28 shooting and robbery in the 800 block of Diablo Avenue.

Police said they did not locate any victims at the time of arrival, however, they did locate numerous, spent, pistol casings and unspent pistol cartridges were found on the ground. A victim was contacted moments later who stated that while she was standing on a nearby sidewalk, the passenger of a white vehicle fired a pistol at her while that vehicle was fleeing the scene.

Surveillance video was obtained from 7-Eleven store cameras which showed that prior to the robbery, the white suspect vehicle and three suspect occupants arrived at 7-Eleven and met up with a driver of a gray sedan.

During the meeting, a struggle ensued between two male suspects and the victim driver of the gray sedan. Following the struggle, both the gray sedan and the white suspect vehicle fled the 7-Eleven parking lot.

About an hour after the shooting, the victim driver of the gray sedan reported to Novato Police that he had been robbed of marijuana while at the 7-Eleven and that one suspect had shot at him and struck him in the head with a pistol.

From evidence gathered at the scene, and forensic analysis conducted by the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office crime laboratory, Detectives were able to identify one suspect as Jason Arevalo, a 19 year old Antioch, CA resident. Detectives then obtained a warrant for Arevalo’s arrest for a robbery violation. Arevalo was arrested in Antioch, CA on May 7, 2020 by Novato Police Department and was booked into Contra Costa County Jail.

Continuing with the investigation and following leads obtained from various sources, Detectives were able to conclude that Francisco Flores-Avina, a 20 year old Pittsburg resident accompanied Arevalo to 7-Eleven on the date of the robbery.

Flores-Avina was further identified as the suspect who fired a pistol at the robbery victim and the innocent bystander who was shot at while Arevalo and Flores-Avina fled the scene.

On October 26, 2020, Detectives obtained a warrant for Flores-Avina’s arrest for attempted murder, robbery, dissuading a witness, assault with a deadly weapon and negligent discharge of a firearm. At the time the warrant was obtained, Flores-Avina was housed at the Contra Costa County Jail and was booked for the arrest warrant.

The third occupant of the white suspect vehicle is believed to be a juvenile female and her involvement remains under investigation.