Two men were arrested early Friday at a west-side Family Dollar as they were leaving the store after burglarizing it, police said.
Jeremy Lee Koons, 38, and Robert Mendoza Hernandez, 30, were booked into the Pima County jail.
The men are suspects in the burglaries of several dozen businesses throughout the Tucson-area that occurred during the last nine months, said Tucson Police Lt. Decio Hopffer, who oversees the property crimes section. The investigation into the cases are continuing.
Koons, who lives in the 4000 block of West Braemore Street, is facing two counts of burglary, theft, possession of burglary tools and conducting a criminal enterprise, said Sgt. Chris Widmer, a department spokesman.
Hernandez, who lives in the 3900 block of South 13th Avenue, is facing burglary, theft and conducting a criminal enterprise, Widmer said.
Hopffer said both men were caught burglarizing Family Dollar, 1231 W. St. Mary's Road, at about 1:30 a.m. while Koons was under surveillance by police.
He said evidence was collected by detectives after a search warrant was served Friday at Koons' and Hernandez's residences. Their vehicles were also searched. Financial records also were collected.Β
The serial burglary investigation began in January when an attempted burglary was discovered at Bank of the West, 3175 N. Swan Road.
Hopffer said detectives found that in dozens of subsequent burglaries the same methods of operation were used, including the burglars cutting the roof of businesses to enter the buildings.
Entries also were made by cutting through the walls of adjacent businesses and tunneling through to the targeted businesses where the burglars cut open safes and took the money, Hopffer said.
The businesses, targeted in the early morning hours, were mainly restaurants, supermarkets, clothing stores and business offices.
In June, the egee's at 3743 S. 12th Ave. was burglarized and police collected physical evidence that identified Koons, Hopffer said. Eleven days ago, police began surveilling Koons, which led officers to Friday's arrests.
Detectives will work with the Pima County Sheriff's Department, and the Marana, Oro Valley and University of Arizona police departments on burglaries in which Koons and Hernandez may have committed, Hopffer said.
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