Police have arrested a Denton man in connection with a series of armed robberies, but the suspect's brother said investigators have the wrong man.
Denton police said the quick thinking of two officers led to the Saturday arrest of Joshua Salinas, 26, at his home.
A masked and hooded man had forced his way into the Zoom Zoom store in the 500 block of South Locust Street by shooting out the front door. An officer heard the gunshot while on patrol, and the store owner pointed at a man running away when the officer got to the store, police said.
The officer lost sight of the man, but found a suspicious car nearby, Officer Ryan Grelle said. A second officer recognized the vehicle, which he had recently stopped for a traffic violation, and knew the driver's home address.
"We could have had another robbery at some point if those two officers didn’t remember seeing the suspect and put two and two together," Grelle said.
Grelle said evidence was found at the home linked Salinas to the Zoom Zoom holdup and other robberies.
Police also said Salinas is the man seen in surveillance video taken at some of the robberies.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
But Hector Cavazos, Salinas' brother, said police are wrong.
"How is a man going to rob four stores when he’s at work all the time?" he said.
Cavazos, who visited his brother at the Denton City Jail on Monday, said Salinas was at home with him at the time of the Saturday robbery.
Denton police said they believe Salinas had robbed the Zoom Zoom store before in February and robbed four other stores since December.
Salinas, who was arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery, is being held on $75,000 bond.
Grelle said detectives are consulting with other North Texas police about unsolved cases that may involve Salinas. Denton police said they expect to charge Salinas with four additional counts of robbery this week.
Records show Salinas has served state prison time for burglary.
