Suspect to be charged with 250 criminal counts

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office on Thursday said it plans to file 250 criminal counts  against a 31-year-old man accused of a rash of crimes that crisscrossed the region from Temecula to the Coachella Valley.

Sergio Nicolas Lopez is accused of committing 78 robberies from October 2010 to April 2011 at businesses throughout the county, said agency spokesman John Hall in a statement released Thursday.

Lopez’s favorite targets were shoe and clothing stores, hair salons, barber shops, delis and yogurt shops, the statement said. More than a dozen of the alleged crimes occurred in Hemet.

Lopez already faces a single count of robbery, which occurred at Anna’s Linens in Indio. Lopez allegedly evaded capture after a police chase. He also allegedly carjacked a vehicle in Cathedral City on May 4, after two other unsuccessful attempts, the statement said.

He was arrested on May 12, and is being held in lieu of $1-million bail.

[5:30 p.m.: The headline and first paragraph of the story initially said the suspect was to be charged with 250 "robbery" counts. But he is expected to be charged with various criminal counts.]

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-- Phil Willon in Riverside