Tucson police arrested three men they say were wanted in connection with a series of robberies that began Thursday night and continued into early Friday, authorities said.
Jeremy Wilson, 19, and Saul Perez-Hernandez, 20, were arrested Friday in connection with three robberies, and 20-year-old Jaime Lopez was taken into custody on suspicion of being involved in at least two, according to a post on the Tucson Police Department Facebook page.
About 11:30 p.m. Thursday, two gunmen entered a home in the 3200 bock of East Fort Lowell Road and pointed their weapons at the resident, who was home alone. One of the gunmen struck the victim in the face with a gun, before they forced the man into his bedroom and took prescription medications and other property. The men both wore bandanas around their faces, the post said. They fled after the attack.
About 1 a.m. Friday, two men were walking near East First Street and North Stewart Avenue, when a vehicle pulled up next to them and two men wearing bandanas around their faces got out of the car. Just like in the previous robbery, one of the men was armed with a handgun and the other was carrying a rifle. They hit both victims with their guns and forced them to empty their pockets of cash and cell phones, before fleeing in the dark colored vehicle that was possibly driven by a third person. One of the robbed men was seriously injured when he was struck and had to be transported to a local hospital, according to the post.
Twenty minutes later, police received reports that two men entered a home in the 200 block of North First Avenue through an unlocked door and pointed their guns at the six people in the house. While moving the residents from room to room at gunpoint, the gunmen stole various pieces of property, including cell phones, the post said.
After the robbery, the people in the house tracked their phones using an app, and passed the locations on to police.
That led police to an apartment complex in the 400 block of East Prince Road where they found a car that matched the vehicle used in the robberies. After one of the men left the complex in the vehicle, officers stopped it and noticed that the driver was wearing a bandana with a skull design, that was similar to the one described in the robberies.
Police spotted a handgun magazine and property belonging to the victims inside the car, and obtained a search warrant for the car and associated apartment. SWAT officers located several people inside the apartment, and also found a rifle and handgun, as well as property and prescription medication taken during the earlier robberies. After conducting interviews, detectives say they were able to link Wilson and Perez-Hernandez to all three robberies, and connect Lopez to two of them, the post said.
Perez-Hernandez was arrested on suspicion of nine counts each of armed robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping. He has also been charged with two counts of first degree burglary, according to the post. Pima County jail records show that he is being held on an $80,000 bond.
Wilson is facing the same counts, and two additional charges of aggravated assault related to a Wednesday shooting that police say they were able to link him to, the post said. He is being held on a $100,000 bond.
Lopez is facing seven counts each of armed robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and kidnapping, along with two counts of first degree burglary, according to the post. His bond has been set at $75,000.
Police are asking anyone with information about these or similar incidents to call 911 or 88-CRIME.
