Ukiah >> Two Redwood Valley teenagers were arrested Sunday after allegedly robbing two stores over the weekend, the Mendocino County Sheriff”s Office reported.
According to the MCSO, the first holdup occurred around 2:15 p.m. Nov. 29 when witnesses saw a man enter the Little Baker”s Market at 6951 East Road in Redwood Valley and demand money of the cashier while brandishing a knife. After the cashier gave him money from the register, the man ran out and got into the passenger seat of an early 1990s model Honda sedan.
The suspect was described as approximately 5-5, with a thin build and olive complexion, who was wearing a green jumpsuit or coveralls, a black beanie, sunglasses and a black cloth covering his face, as well as black gloves. The driver of the Honda was described as a female.
The following day, Nov. 30, MCSO deputies were dispatched to the Albion Grocery on Albion Ridge Road when it was reported that a young man wearing a black beanie, black face mask, black gloves and sunglasses had approached the clerk and demanded money.
The clerk said the man”s hand was concealed in a bag in a way that suggested he was holding a firearm and she might have seen a firearm, but she wasn”t sure. The man demanded only $20 bills, and the clerk handed him a stack she estimated to contain about $500.
The man then fled the store and got into a green Honda sedan which witnesses said headed eastbound on Albion Little River Road toward Comptche. With deputies from the Ukiah area and California State Parks rangers responding to the Comptche area to aid in the pursuit, a MCSO deputy saw the suspect vehicle being driven at a high rate of speed on Comptche-Ukiah Road about four miles west of Comptche.
A short time later, the vehicle was spotted leaving a private driveway and was stopped on Comptche-Ukiah Road near the intersection of Flynn Creek Road. Deputies later learned that the suspects had tried to abandon the vehicle on the driveway and flee on foot, but they were confronted by the property owner and drove back down the driveway, where they were apprehended.
The robbery suspect was identified as Tristan G. Mendez, 18, of Redwood Valley, and the driver as a 17-year-old boy, also of Redwood Valley. Deputies reported finding evidence both on the suspects and in their car that linked them to the robberies in Albion and Redwood Valley, including $500 in $20 bills, a knife, a black beanie, black gloves and a black face mask.
Both Mendez and his accomplice were arrested on suspicion of robbery and conspiracy. Mendez was booked into Mendocino County Jail under $150,000 bail, and the 17 year old was booked into Juvenile Hall.
