The two friends were neighbors. Now one is testifying against the other in robbery case

Juan Calderon and Patrick King were friends who lived next door to each other in Fresno.

When they got old enough, they worked together as bounty hunters, searching for defendants who jumped bail and skipped court dates.

Then in late 2014, they found a new way to make money, King testified Tuesday in Fresno County Superior Court.

Wearing black tactical clothing with vests that said “Agent,” the pair began robbing unsuspecting Spanish-speaking victims, King testified.

While King has pleaded guilty to robbery and impersonating a police officer and went to prison for his crimes, Calderon has elected to stand trial. King is the star witness.

In his testimony, King, 28, said he and Calderon robbed 40 to 60 people in October and November 2014. He said the victims were randomly selected.

Calderon, also 28, is facing only eight felony charges involving four victims who reported being robbed. Prosecutor Amy Cobb said the two robbers purposely picked people who weren’t likely to report the crime.

Police say King and Calderon were training to be bail bondsmen and were issued law enforcement equipment. Dressed in black and armed with flashlights, police said, they targeted Mexican nationals.

“It made us look like authority figures,” King explained Tuesday.

“Like police?” Cobb asked.

“Yes,” King replied.

King said he and Calderon targeted victims who left nightclubs or were on a secluded streets. They did most of their robberies on or near Belmont Avenue, but sometimes went downtown to Chinatown.

King testified that he and Calderon would confront the victims, ask them for identification, demand their wallets, and let them leave after taking cash from them. The pair ended up stealing $300 to $1,200 from each of their victims, Cobb said.

Court records say King and Calderon surrendered in November 2014 once they learned police were looking for them. King later admitted taking part in the robberies while Calderon pleaded not guilty.

In January 2016, King was sentenced to two years in prison after accepting a plea deal. If he had been tried and convicted, he would have faced a minimum of 17 years in prison for the robberies, his lawyer said at the time.

King’s testimony Tuesday came prior to the trial and outside the presence of the jury so the judge could determine whether to admit it as evidence. Defense attorney Irene Luna contended that his testimony about robbing 40 to 60 people would be prejudicial toward Calderon, especially since King had previously said that he and Calderon had robbed fewer than 30 people.

King testified he initially reported a lower number because he didn’t want to face more charges and because he had not been sentenced yet.

Judge James Petrucelli agreed that King’s testimony about robbing 40 to 60 people was prejudicial but also gives the jury a true account of what happened. “I find his testimony credible,” Petrucelli said in allowing the testimony.

King is now scheduled to testify Wednesday in front of the jury.

King testified Tuesday that he and Calderon were offered the same plea agreement of two years in prison. He said he was not angry at Calderon for not taking the deal. But he had this to say to Calderon: “We are not kids any more. If you did it, you did it. You have to own up to it.”

Afterward, Cobb told jurors in opening statements of the trial that she had evidence, including 911 calls from victims, to prove Calderon did the robberies and impersonated police. The calls described the robbers and the car they drove. She asked the jury to find him guilty.

Luna, however, told the jury that some of the victims could not identify Calderon as one of the robbers or pick him out of a police photo lineup.

But the first witness to testify, Robert Serrano, identified Calderon as the person who robbed him during the early hours of Nov. 22, 2014, near Belmont and First Street.

This story was originally published January 23, 2018 at 3:21 PM with the headline "The two friends were neighbors. Now one is testifying against the other in robbery case."