Citizen Staff Writer
DAVID L. TEIBEL
dteibel@tucsoncitizen.com
Tucson police are investigating a Friday robbery at a Southwest Side Radio Shack, a police spokeswoman said.
Police arrested Josue D. Sotelo, 25, of the 300 block of West Aviation Drive on charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and kidnapping, Officer Linda Galindo said in a news statement.
Also arrested was Sotelo’s alleged lookout and getaway driver, Paul A. Nuñez, 26, of the 4500 block of South 14th Avenue, Galindo said.
The arrests were in connection with an 11 a.m. robbery at a Radio Shack at 2071 E. Irvington Road.
Galindo said a man walked into the store carrying an AK-47 assault-type rifle, pointed it at the clerk, demanded cash and walked out of the store carrying the cash register drawer, which contained an undisclosed amount of money.
The gunman got into a pickup driven by another man and the driver sped away before police arrived.
Galindo said a description of the truck was broadcast to officers and a patrol officer spotted it near South 12th Avenue and West Michigan Street.
The officer tried to stop the truck. But the driver fled, lost control of the pickup and hit a fence near Interstate 19 and West MacArthur Street.
The two men in the truck ran, but only Nuñez was immediately caught, Galindo said.
Detectives searched a home in the 300 block of West Aviation. It was not clear it was Sotelo’s home. The AK-47 believed used in the robbery was found there, Galindo said.
Detectives also searched Sotelo’s previous home in the 4500 block of South Mission Road, Galindo said.
Police then found information leading them to the 300 block of North Silverbell Road, where Sotelo was found and arrested.
At initial court appearance over the weekend, Sotelo was ordered held in the Pima County Jail in lieu of $20,000 bail and Nuñez was ordered held in lieu of $10,000 bail, a jail records clerk said.