Third striker faces up to 300 years in state prison

The Mission Viejo resident and parolee suspected of robbing nine local retailers is set to appear in court on January 12.

Mathew Rendon, 36, has been held on $1 million bail since his arrest on January 4 while attempting to rob a 10th store.
 
A “third striker,” Rendon is a career criminal who served 15 years in prison for armed robbery before his release in 2016.
 
From November 29 through December 30, Rendon robbed stores in multiple cities including Mission Viejo, Chino, Irvine, Aliso Viejo, Laguna Hills and Laguna Niguel.
 
He faces up to 300 years in prison for nine second-degree robbery and an attempted robbery charges.  Before this latest arrest, he received three felony convictions for robbery in 2002 in Alameda County.
 
“Our Directed Enforcement Team (DET) focuses on career criminals in our contract cities and this was a prime example of teamwork in taking a dangerous felon out of our community,” said Mission Viejo Chief of Police Services Quyen Vuong.  “Rendon was arrested (at Los Alisos and Santa Margarita) just before he was about to commit another armed robbery.”