Suspects fled east toward Stagecoach area

A robber and the driver of a getaway car eluded authorities May 22, but not before getting away with an undisclosed amount of money from the Phillips 66 gas station and convenience store at 200 S. Marguerite St., according to a police report. The only clues police have in the incident are the description of the vehicle in question and a few details about what one of the perpetrators looked like.

According to a police report by Gallup Police Officer Jeremy Shirley, at about 4:22 pm, a male got out of a gray Chevy Trailblazer that was parked in the back of the Phillips 66 and near the establishment’s dumpster. The gas station and convenience store are part of the bigger Lowe’s grocery store, which sits across the parking lot toward the east.

Referencing witness statements, Shirley wrote in the report that a 5-feet-6-inch-tall male, possibly Hispanic or Caucasian, entered the store dressed in black pants and wearing a hoodie and T-Shirt.

The female clerk on duty described the suspect as somewhat agitated, moving his hands near his pockets as if he had something like a gun. Although the clerk was not threatened, the report states, she handed over money and the suspect and the other unidentified male fled east along Aztec Avenue and in the direction of the Stagecoach neighborhood.

A security guard who patrols Lowe’s and its accompanying liquor store told Shirley he saw the gray vehicle speed off. He said the car had “rims” on it, but no noticeable markings or exterior damage that stuck out. “He said the trailblazer had no license plates,” Shirley wrote in the report.

The Marguerite Phillips 66 is one of a string of gas station break-ins or attempted robberies over the past few months around Gallup. The Conoco gas station and convenience store at 3302 W. Highway 66 reported an attempted beer robbery about three weeks ago after two males tried to steal some beer just after midnight. One of the suspects in that attempt carried nun chucks that resembled a gun, a store clerk said in that incident.

The East Side Gilbert Ortega Shell Station and convenience store at 3306 E. Highway 66 was broken into at least once in three consecutive months, with liquor or cigarettes taken each time. The suspects in those incidents are considered neighborhood teens and homeless street alcoholics.

By Bernie Dotson
Sun Correspondent