Avon police seek robbery suspect

AVON, Colo. ” A man who allegedly robbed a liquor store clerk and another man who threatened a restaurant’s manager are being sought by Avon police.

A man walked inside Joe’s Liquor Store and asked to buy cigarettes Monday at 9:36 p.m. The clerk asked for identification, which the man did not have, Avon police said.

The clerk told the man to leave and the man pulled a knife on the clerk and took some money ” police would not say how much ” from the cash register. The suspect ran away, police said.

The suspect was Hispanic, 17 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, skinny, with a light mustache and wearing a tan hooded sweater, the clerk said. The man was carrying a filet knife with a 12- to 15-inch blade, the clerk said.

At Agave restaurant, another man broke a window, climbed through it and threatened a manager with a knife before climbing back out of the window Saturday at 11:12 p.m., police said.

The man held the knife and looked menacingly at the manager, said Avon police Spokeswoman Krista Jaramillo.

“It wasn’t as much as a verbal threat as just the presence of the weapon itself,” she said.

The suspect was Hispanic with very short black hair, 5 feet 10 inches tall, less than 25 years old and wearing a white T-shirt with blue stripes across the chest, the manager said.

Police do not know whether the two incidents are related, but have been giving people flyers in English and in Spanish about the two crimes as they look for people with information on the crimes, Jaramillo said.

The man accused of robbing the liquor store faces charges of aggravated robbery and menacing use of a deadly weapon, both felonies, and theft, whose classification depends on how much money was stolen, Jaramillo said. Police also are working on composite sketches of the men, she said.

The man accused of threatening the manager at Agave faces charges of first-degree burglary and menacing use of a deadly weapon, both felonies, and criminal mischief, whose classification depends on the value of property damaged, Jaramillo said.

Anyone with information that leads to the arrest of the suspects can earn a $1,000 reward. Call Eagle County Crime Stoppers at 328-7007 or Avon police at 748-4040. Callers can remain anonymous.