A 19-year-old man suspected of robbing a Hemet convenience store and holding up another one nearby was charged Monday with armed robbery.
Brenden Elijah Jones was arrested Thursday following a Hemet Police Department investigation.
Jones was slated to make his initial court appearance Monday afternoon at the Banning Justice Center.
He’s being held on $105,000 bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.
According to Hemet police Sgt. Dan Reinbolt, about 7 a.m. Thursday, Jones allegedly confronted a clerk in a 7-Eleven near the intersection of Florida Avenue and San Jacinto Street, leveling a Glock P80 9mm handgun at the victim and demanding money.
The woman complied, handing over an undisclosed amount of cash, which Jones stuffed into a backpack, Reinbolt alleged.
He said that a person walking by the store witnessed the holdup and called 911.
“Officers responded immediately and captured the suspect as he was leaving the store … attempting to walk to an awaiting car in an adjacent parking lot,” the sergeant said.
After Jones was taken into custody, patrolmen searched the alleged getaway vehicle and discovered “more cash in small denominations” that they immediately suspected was taken during a separate robbery, according to Reinbolt.
He alleged detectives identified the defendant as the gunman in a hold-up at another 7-Eleven in an unincorporated community neighboring Hemet earlier that morning. However, the case remains under investigation, and no charges have been filed in connection with it.
“Neither employee at the two stores was harmed,” Reinbolt said.
Jones has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.