Man reportedly robs 7-Eleven of $36
A man remained in custody Tuesday at the Lee County Jail after he allegedly robbed a Cape Coral convenience store while armed with two knives.
Anthony A. Merrero, 24, of 2811 W. 44th St., Lehigh Aces, was arrested and charged with one count of robbery with a weapon. He is being held on no bond.
At about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday, Cape police responded to a report of an armed robbery at the 7-Eleven, at 3206 Santa Barbara Blvd. The clerk told officers that a man entered the store and tried to buy cigarettes, officials reported.
Upon the clerk ringing up the sale, the man allegedly pulled two knives from his pants pocket and demanded all of the money from the register. The clerk complied and gave the man $36. The man then fled on foot across the road.
Officers began a search of the area. They made contact with a man a few blocks north of the store at 3 a.m., officials reported. The man was standing on a corner smoking the same brand of cigarettes taken during the robbery.
The man denied any involvement in the robbery, and told police that he got his cigarette from a friend’s nephew, Merrero. He stated the three of them were together the whole night except when Merrero went to get cigarettes.
Officers accompanied the man back to his friend’s home, where they came into contact with Merrero, who matched the description of the man involved in the robbery. According to officials, he confessed to robbing the 7-Eleven.
“This was outstanding work by the patrol officers and supervisors of the 4th Platoon, as well as our major crimes detectives,” Lt. Tony Sizemore, the spokesman for the CCPD, wrote in a prepared statement released Tuesday.
Merrero was taken into custody and booked at the jail.
He has a court appearance scheduled for Feb 13.