UPDATE: Robbery Investigation In Lake Elsinore Leads To Felon's Arrest; Second Suspect Arrested

10/19 UPDATE at 5:30 p.m.: More details have surfaced on Thursday’s robbery in Lake Elsinore that involved a chase and high police presence in the city.

According to new information released Friday afternoon from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the two men suspected in the crime targeted a homeowner in the 500 block of Lake Street.

The victim was in his back yard shortly before 1 p.m. when two men opened a side gate to his property and confronted him. The alleged robbers demanded money, brandished a handgun and assaulted the homeowner, reported Sgt. David Cardoza of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.

The victim was able to call 911 but the suspects fled the scene in a white Kia with paper plates, Cardoza reported.

Patrol units and a helicopter were called in to search for the suspects, and police spotted the Kia at an apartment complex in the 2000 block of E. Lakeshore Drive, the sergeant reported.

“As officers approached the suspects, the passenger exited the vehicle and fled through the apartment complex,” Cardoza said, explaining that deputies chased him on foot and caught up with the man at a fast food restaurant on Mission Trail.

The driver of the Kia sped away from police. He abandoned the car at a mobile home park in the 300 block of E. Ellis Street and took off on foot, but police caught up with him in an abandoned field on E. Pottery Street, Cardoza said.

A records check on the Kia revealed it was reported stolen out of the City of Westminster. The weapon used in the armed robbery was recovered, along with additional evidence that led police to an apartment in the 17000 block of Grand Avenue in Lakeland Village, where additional stolen property was recovered, according to the sergeant.

The driver of the vehicle, Justin Val Miller, 22, of Ladera Ranch, was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, vehicle theft, possession of stolen property, felony evading, and assault with a deadly weapon; the passenger, Nickolas Daniel McNally, 24, of Lake Elsinore, was arrested on suspicion of armed robbery, being an ex-felon in possession of a firearm, possession of stolen property, and committing a felony offense while out on bail, the sergeant said.

Both men were nabbed around 1:30 p.m. Thursday and are due to appear in court Monday.

According to court records, McNally was charged this past spring with felonies including assault with a firearm, making criminal threats and vandalism. Court records show he pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case has been referred to Mental Health Court. He has also been charged with inflicting corporal injury on his spouse/coinhabitant; a plea has not been entered on that charge, court records show. McNally posted a bond and was released from custody as his case continues, according to court records.

In 2009 McNally was convicted on a charge of inflicting corporal injury on a child, and on January 13, 2010 he was sentenced to two years in state prison, according to court records.

10/19 UPDATE at 9 a.m.: Police activity in the McDonald's parking lot at Lakeshore and Diamond drives Thursday netted the arrest of a felon suspected of second-degree robbery.

The arrest of Nickolas Daniel McNally, 24, was made by Lake Elsinore Sheriff's Station deputies at 1:41 p.m. Thursday.

McNally, who police say is a felon, was arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery and receiving stolen property; he was also nabbed for being a felon in possession of a firearm and committing a felony while on bail/release, jail records show.

It's not immediately clear how police tracked McNally to the Lake Elsinore location, but a clerk at McDonald's said the incident did not involve the restaurant.

McNally is due to appear in court Monday.

He was charged this past spring with felonies including assault with a firearm, making criminal threats and vandalism, according to court records that also show he pleaded not guilty to the charges and the case has been referred to Mental Health Court. He has also been charged with inflicting corporal injury on his spouse/coinhabitant; a plea has not been entered on that charge, court records show. McNally posted a bond and was released from custody as his case continues, according to court records.

In 2009 McNally was convicted on a charge of inflicting corporal injury on a child, and on January 13, 2010 he was sentenced to two years in state prison, according to court records.

A second arrest Thursday may also be tied to McNally's case, but police have not confirmed a connection. Moments before the McDonald's parking lot incident, deputies arrested Justin Val Miller, 22, at Pottery and Rupard streets in Lake Elsinore. The arrest was made at 1:30 p.m. Thursday and according to jail records Miller was booked on suspicion of second-degree robbery, receiving stolen property, assault with a deadly weapon, evading police, and reckless driving.

Miller is also due to appear in court on Oct. 22.

10/18 ORIGINAL POST: Police are investigating a robbery today in Lake Elsinore at Lakeshore and Diamond drives, police have confirmed.

Riverside County Sheriff’s Department deputy Albert Martinez said the robbery report was called in to police at 12:48 p.m.

Residents are reporting police activity and a helicopter in the area.

Stay tuned for more information.