Anthony, Texas, police seize AR-15, arrest 3 men, woman in motel room invasion robbery
A man was robbed and assaulted when a group armed with an AR-15 rifle burst into his motel room in Anthony, Texas, over the weekend, authorities said.
Anthony police arrested three men and a woman accused of taking part in the motel room invasion Sunday morning at the Best Western next to Interstate 10.
The robbery suspects and the victim know each other and it is suspected that the assault may be possibly tied to narcotics, Anthony, Texas, police Chief Carlos Enriquez said, adding that an investigation continues.
The victim was answering a knock at his motel room door when the door was kicked in at about 9:50 a.m. Sunday as the robbers rushed inside, Assistant District Attorney Adam Chevrier said Tuesday during teleconference bond hearings for the defendants.
One of the robbers wielded an AR-15 rifle and another was armed with what appeared to be shotgun. Enriquez said police later learned the shotgun was a pellet rifle.
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The firearms were pointed at the man, who was held down and placed in a headlock as the group took turns hitting him with the butt of the rifle, Chevrier said.
The man was then sat on a chair with the AR-15 pointed at his head. "If you move, I'll kill you," one of the robbers threatened, Chevrier said, citing police accounts of the incident.
The robbers stole $700, the man's keys and his Chevrolet Impala, Enriquez said.
Later that day, Anthony police officers spotted the group in a different stolen vehicle and stopped them at gunpoint at the Pilot truck stop next to the Best Western, Enriquez said.
An AR-15 with a fully-loaded magazine and the shotgun-looking pellet gun were found in the rear of the vehicle, Enriquez said.
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Anthony police arrested German Jovany Gallegos, 21, of Canutillo, and Jesus Manuel Guerrero, 19, Erik Elijah Lopez, 19, and Eileen Hernandez, 17, all three from Anthony, New Mexico. The twin towns of Anthony, Texas, and Anthony, New Mexico, straddle the state line just north of El Paso.
Each suspect was booked into the El Paso County Jail on charges of aggravated robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Each defendant is jailed on a $125,000 bond on each charge.
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At the bond hearing, Magistrate Judge Ruben Nuñez declined to lower the bond amount, citing the violent nature of the crime and the use of firearms.
El Paso County Jail records show that during the robbery, Guerrero was out on bond after being arrested by the Texas Department of Public Safety on a smuggling of persons charge on May 23.
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Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Anthony, Texas, police seize AR-15, arrest 4 in motel room robbery
