3 Men Face Charges in Robbery, Car Chase

By Patrick Orr, The Idaho Statesman, Boise

Jan. 26–Three men accused of trying to rob a Meridian restaurant at gunpoint late Tuesday and then shooting at a police car during a short high-speed chase will make their first court appearance today.

The men — all arrested after the car they were in crashed into a water-filled ditch on Can/Ada Road around 10:30 p.m. — are being held in the Canyon County Jail and will be arraigned in 3rd District Magistrate Court at 1:30 p.m.

Nampans Johny Gonzales, 25, and Keith Ogburn, 32, and Frank Gerardo, 37, whose address is only listed as Idaho, are charged with robbery, assault with intent to commit a felony and kidnapping; more charges are expected, Meridian police Lt. Bob Stowe said Wednesday.

Here is what police say happened:

An employee of the Lotus Garden Restaurant, 2220 E. Fairview Ave., was taking out some trash behind the building around 10:10 p.m. when three men wearing masks and carrying guns approached her and took her back inside the restaurant, where they threatened to kill her unless they got some money.

At least one of the men pointed a gun at a restaurant employee, Stowe said. The men were told there was no money in the restaurant, so they left without any cash and got into a white Pontiac sedan. Witnesses immediately called Ada County dispatch to report the robbery and gave a vehicle description.

An off-duty Ada County sheriff’s deputy driving in the area in an unmarked squad car saw the suspect vehicle on Ustick Road near Linder Road. He began following the car and reported someone in the Pontiac shot at him, Stowe said.

“He heard the shots and watched the bullets bounce off the roadway,” Stowe said.

More officers responded to the call and a short chase ensued, with speeds reportedly reaching 100 mph. It ended minutes later, around 10:26 p.m., when the Pontiac left the roadway and ran into a ditch on Can-Ada Road near Cherry Lane.

At that point, all three men in the suspect car got out and ran away. About 20 officers — including some from Meridian, Boise, and Nampa police and the Ada and Canyon county sheriff’s offices — set up a perimeter around the area and began searching. Two men were found in a nearby field around 11: 30 p.m.; a third was arrested walking down the sidewalk in a residential area near the crash scene around 1 a.m., Stowe said.

Officers found two handguns and a shotgun near the spot where the car crashed into the ditch, Stowe said.

None of the three men resisted arrest, and none of the officers from any of the agencies fired during the pursuit or the foot search, Stowe said.

Investigators are still trying to determine why the robbers chose the Lotus Garden or whether there is any connection between the suspects and any employees, Stowe said.

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