SOLANO COUNTY, Calif. — Two matching crimes within the span of two months ultimately led Solano Sheriff's deputies to two suspects in an attempted murder and robbery investigation.
Amit K. Chhoker, 18 of Woodland, and Branden L. Lerma, 19 of Winters, were arrested by Solano Sheriff’s deputies as they investigate two cases of attempted murder and robbery that happened months apart.
The similarities are what helped investigators get a lead on the investigation.
In April, an 18-year-old man was shot in the leg and robbed of his cell phone, cash, and shoes near Lake Solano Park on Putah Creek Road. Deputies said that the victim had met Chhoker online, was driven to the location by her, and, when they arrived, Lerma and another suspect, described only as male, pulled him from the vehicle, shot him in the leg, and robbed him.
According to the sheriff’s office, the two males were dropped off prior to the shooting and robbery and were lying in wait.
The victim eventually left the area on foot after being shot and walked more than mile down the dark road until he found a place he could get help. Chhoker, Lerma, and the third suspect had also left the area in Chhoker's vehicle, described as a green Land Rover.
Another case would come about two months later where dispatchers got a report of a shooting. The shooting and robbery methods were exactly the same – excluding the caliber of handgun used – as the earlier case, according to the sheriff’s office.
The sheriff's office said both were picked up by a woman in a Green Land Rover and surveillance video was captured of the vehicle arriving to and leaving the crime scene. Both victims were also shot in the lower half of the body and robbed. The second victim was robbed of two ounces of marijuana and his cell phone.
Investigators would eventually follow geographical phone “pings” from the second victims cell phone to the 900 block of Garcia Drive in Woodland, where research from Woodland Police Department indicated Chhoker lived.
She was identified and later arrested on June 23 in Woodland. Her Land Rover was seized for evidence and suspected human blood was found inside, according to the sheriff’s office.
Lerma, who deputies believe to be the shooter in at least one of the incidents, was tracked down and arrested during a felony traffic stop in Winters.
The sheriff’s office said Chhoker conspired with Lerma and the third unidentified suspect in preplanning both of the incidents on Putah Creek Road, where Lerma and the other male suspect waited until Chhoker arrived with victims.