A Springdale man is behind bars after police say he robbed a local store with a gun and purple gloves. The suspect made off with cash, before being found and arrested by responding officers, police say.
Arturo Sainz, was arrested and booked into jail early Sunday morning on suspicion of aggravated robbery, terroristic threatening and violating parole. He remained Sunday night in the Washington County Detention Center on $3,500 bond, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
His arraignment is set for April 23, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
Eyewitnesses told police Sainz entered the Tobacco Superstore at 1001 Thompson St., pointed a gun at the cashier and threatened to kill her. The suspect told everyone in the store to lay on the ground, while he demanded all of the money from the cash register, according to a preliminary report from the Washington County Prosecutor’s Office.
There is no indication from the preliminary report on whether the gun was real.
When the cashier told Sainz she could not open the register without a sale, he handed a pack of cigarettes to her and gave her a black plastic bag, telling the cashier to fill it up with money or he would shoot her, the preliminary report states. The suspect later told the cashier to open the register again to empty out the coins, the report states.
While the cashier was filling up the bag, the suspect allegedly placed the gun against another woman’s head and threatened to shoot her if the cashier did not cooperate.
Sainz then told everyone in the store to place their hands on the wall while facing away from the front of the store, or he would shoot them through the front glass, police said.
The suspect left and was later apprehended by responding officers after they noticed his vehicle fleeing the scene at a high speed, according to the preliminary report.
The suspect, during the robbery, was wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt, a dark mask and purple latex gloves, eyewitnesses at the store told police.
