LVPD apprehends man charged in Allsup’s armed robbery
A Las Vegas man is being held on a $25,000 bond, accused of robbing a convenience store at gunpoint last week.
Angel Juarez Jr., 32, of Las Vegas, was taken into custody Feb. 17 at a home in the 500 block of Chavez Street, about 12 hours after an armed robbery was reported, according to Chief of Police Antonio Salazar.
LVPD officers responded to the Allsup’s on Grand Avenue and Alamo Street just after 4:30 a.m. on Feb. 17. Witnesses said a man dressed in dark clothing pulled out a handgun and demanded liquor, cigarettes and cash from the register.
Store employees complied with his demands, and the man ran to a vehicle parked behind the store, then fled west on Alamo, according to an arrest affidavit filed in San Miguel Magistrate Court.
Hours later, police responded to a report of a stolen car. A woman told police she’d given Juarez a ride to her home around 1 a.m., but said about an hour later, she was unable to locate the keys to her vehicle, according to the affidavit. When she asked Juarez about her keys, she told police he became “angry” about it and then left her home.
Around 1 p.m., a woman contacted LVPD to say Juarez was at her home on Chavez Street. She said he arrived around 5 a.m. and told her he had a stolen car and that he’d “robbed a place and needed a place to hide,” according to the affidavit. The woman told police she’d looked in the car and found a bag containing liquor, cigarettes and cash.
Police arrested Juarez at the house on Chavez Street and located the car that had been reported stolen. Juarez was booked into the San Miguel County Detention Center, charged with felony armed robbery, and felony motor vehicle theft.
Juarez has been arrested numerous times dating back to November 2008, and has faced a slew of criminal charges including aggravated burglary, burglary, child abuse, battery, vehicle theft and trafficking controlled substances.
Court records show that Juarez has faced charges in at least five cases in New Mexico, but charges were dropped in each case after Juarez was found incompetent to stand trial.
During a Feb. 18 hearing, Judge Melanie Rivera set bond for Juarez at $25,000, cash only, citing his lengthy criminal history and the violent nature of the allegations against him.
Judge Rivera stipulated that, if released on bond, Juarez would be on house arrest with a GPS monitor.
Judge Rivera also arraigned Juarez on pending traffic charges during the hearing because Juarez failed to appear for an arraignment scheduled for Jan. 25. Juarez pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of not having evidence of vehicle registration, not having proof of insurance and not having a driver’s license in his possession.
Juarez is scheduled to appear in Magistrate Court March 3 for a preliminary hearing. He remained in custody at SMCDC as of this writing.
