4 arrested, including minor, for San Jose armed robbery
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Four people, including a teenager, were arrested for an armed robbery that left a victim injured in San Jose, police reported.
Police said three of the suspects entered a convenience store in the 400 block of South Kiely Boulevard on Saturday around 5:05 a.m. One of them was armed with a handgun while another was armed with a rifle.
Police identified three of the suspects as 22-year-old Blay Tacha Mellizo, 19-year-old Andrey Guedez Melo, and 18-year-old Juan Hernandez Estrada. The fourth suspect, a 17-year-old boy, was not publicly identified due to their age.
Police said the employee in the store during the incident was struck in the head but the end of the handgun, giving him a non-life-threatening injury.
Police said the trio then forced the employee to open the cash register and stole several hundred dollars before fleeing the store.
Dig deeper:
The San Jose Police Department's preliminary investigation tied the suspects to other convenience store robberies, one in Santa Clara two days before and another in Union City also on Saturday.
Working with the Santa Clara and Union City Police Department detectives, the suspects' car was identified. Later that Saturday, around 2 p.m., Santa Clara police notified SJPD that they found the suspect vehicle unoccupied.
SJPD detectives identified the suspects and took four into custody, including the minor suspect.
While conducting a search warrant, detectives seized two firearms they believe were used during the robberies.
Mellizo, Melo, and Estrada were booked into the Santa Clara County Jail for armed robbery. The 17-year-old was booked into juvenile hall on the same charge.
What we don't know:
It's unclear what the suspects made off in the other two robberies they were allegedly a part of in Santa Clara and Union City.
Police did not specify if the teenage boy was one of the suspects that physically entered the store that Saturday.
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What you can do:
Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to contact SJPD Det. Contreras at 4570@sanjoseca.gov or at (408) 277-4166.