Cottrill
Tucson police arrested a 35-year-old woman Tuesday night in nine convenience market robberies since Dec. 18.
Her boyfriend also was arrested Tuesday, accused of being the getaway driver in seven of the cases, Detective Sgt. Marco Borboa said.
Cynthia Cottrill is accused of armed robbery, aggravated robbery and aggravated assault, Borboa said.
The boyfriend, James A. Hill, 41, is accused of armed robbery and aggravated robbery, Borboa said.
The arrests came shortly after the ninth robbery in the spree was reported to police.
A weapon the woman pulled during the robberies was recovered in the getaway car and turned out to be manufactured to fire only blanks, not lethal ammunition, Borboa said.
The couple got little money in the heists, less than $1,000 from all nine stores they hit, Borboa said, emphasizing that convenience market robbers typically gain small amounts of cash.
Their undoing came shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday with the holdup of a Quik Mart in the 3300 block of North Country Club Road, Borboa said.
A neighbor saw what he thought was a suspicious van in the area and then heard the sirens of police cars rushing to the Quik Mart.
The neighbor called police and reported the van, and officers pulled it over and found Hill and Cottrill inside, Borboa said.
After an investigation they were arrested and booked into the Pima County Jail, Borboa said.
No injuries were reported in the holdups, which ranged over midtown and the East Side, police said.
No bail had been set for the couple.
Cottrill and Hill were to make initial court appearances Wednesday night at which conditions of release would be set.
Hill
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1. Quik Mart, 4477 E. Fifth St., Dec. 18
2. Circle K, 5301 E. Pima St., Dec. 18
3. Quik Mart, 3370 N. Country Club Road, Dec. 18
4. Smoke ‘M, 3942 E. Grant Road, Dec. 18
5. Quik Mart, 1204 N. Alvernon Way, Dec. 18
6. Circle K, 2750 N. Tucson Blvd., Dec. 19
7. 7-11, 3501 E. Grant Road, Jan. 1
8. Quik Mart, 4477 E. Fifth St., Jan. 13
9. Quik Mart, 3370 N. Country Club Road, Jan. 13
Source: Tucson Police Department
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