Two men believed to have attacked employees and customers in dozens of massage parlor robberies have been charged in federal court.
One of the men admitted to carrying out between 50 and 60 robberies at massage parlors in Southern California, according to federal prosecutors.
The suspects, Andy Cuellar, 28, of Hawthorne, and Arturo Morales, 27, of Downey, were arrested Friday after they assaulted several employees at a Torrance massage parlor, according to a 15-page indictment filed on Tuesday at Central. District of California.
Cuellar and Morales did not know at the time that a police task force was following them as they drove from Compton and then exited Highway 110 in Torrance. Cuellar was driving a black 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee allegedly linked to at least 12 other massage parlor robberies committed over the past month, prosecutors said. The Jeep was registered to Cuellar's mother.
On Friday, Cuellar and Morales stopped in front of several massage parlors, but Cuellar spent only a few seconds inside the businesses before returning to the Jeep, according to the indictment. Around 8:30 p.m., Cuellar entered Lucky Health Therapy in Torrance and acted as a customer, according to surveillance footage reviewed by investigators. An employee led him to a back room and Morales soon followed him through the door Cuellar kept open at the back of the business.
Cuellar was armed with a knife and Morales was armed with a .38-caliber handgun, according to investigators.
An employee tried to run out of the business, but Cuellar caught her in the parking lot and pulled her by her hair to return to the business, according to the indictment.
A few minutes later, both suspects allegedly left the business with several bags. The employees told investigators they approached the business they were robbed but were unable to call 911 because two men stole their belongings, including their phones.
Police found Cuellar and Morales at a nearby gas station, where they were allegedly sorting items stolen from employees, according to prosecutors. The suspects ran when police approached the Jeep with its lights and sirens on. Morales was caught at a nearby intersection with approximately $4,000 in cash in his possession, and Cuellar had about $400.
Cuellar was wearing a Dodgers baseball cap, glasses and distinctive white boots, according to investigators. A suspect in two separate massage parlor robberies was wearing the same suit, court records show.
Investigators found the firearm they believe was used during the robbery; It was loaded with one magazine and was reported stolen in 2018.
One of the Lucky Health Therapy employees identified Morales as the person who used a gun during the robbery. Another victim said Morales waved the gun to get more from the employees and Cuellar told him they had enough, according to investigators.
Later that night, only one victim was able to identify Cuellar as one of the alleged robbers, while another victim was unable to identify either man.
Cuellar told investigators he borrowed his gun from a friend because “when you have a gun, no one fights you,” according to court records. He also admitted that he and Morales robbed several massage parlors in November and December with another accomplice whom he did not identify, but said he has been personally involved in 50 to 60 massage parlor robberies. He was on federal probation for a narcotics conviction when he robbed the Torrance massage parlor, investigators said.
Prosecutors charged the two men with interference with commerce and use of a firearm during a violent crime. The men were arrested as part of an undercover operation involving the Orange County Violent Crimes Task Force of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
It is unclear whether the men have legal representation. They are expected to be arraigned in the coming weeks.
