A man is accused of robbing Hunan Chinese Restaurant on the east side of Cortez, taking $40 to $50 from the cash register.
Cortez police officer Jacob Bourdon said he arrived on the scene at Hunan Chinese Restaurant, 2561 East Main St., around 9 a.m. Tuesday, where he met owner Qing Qiu.
Qui told Bourdon that an alarm went off on her phone around 8:10 a.m., alerting her to a potential issue at the restaurant. She went to the restaurant to see what was going on, sharing her confusion as to why the alarm didn’t notify Cortez dispatch.
Qui showed Bourdon the restaurant’s surveillance footage, and the video showed the suspect, later identified as Jeremiah Maestas, trying to open the restaurant’s front door before opening a window south of the main door.
After climbing in, he allegedly walked to the cash register, grabbed a yellow box from below the register, and filled the box with all the coins in the register. Qui told Bourdon that she believes the suspect stole $40 to $50.
Throughout the entirety of the theft, the man attempted to hide his identity by pulling his sweatshirt over his face. The man then exited from the same window, dropping several coins on his way out.
From the video, police noticed identifying marks on the suspect, with an anatomical hand bone structure tattooed on his left hand, and what Bourdon thought was a crown or “similar pointy item” on his right hand.
Once Bourdon got back to the police station, he was informed that the tattoos seen from the security footage matched Maestas, who, police has previously contacted regarding “similar crimes.”
Police went to Maestas’s last known residence, but were told he no longer lives there.
Later on during his routine patrol, Bourdon saw three people on the 400 block of South Market Street, and Maestas was allegedly part of the group.
When Bourdon exited his vehicle, Maestas allegedly ran into one of the houses on South Market Street, where his companions verified his identity for Bourdon.
The owner of the home Maestas entered told police that Maestas came in, then exited through the back door. Police searched the home with the owner’s permission, confirming that Maestas had left.
The owner told Bourdon that he would contact him if Maestas returned. The owner’s wife said she had been on the phone with Maestas, telling him to return to the house, according to police. But he did not come back, at least while Bourdon was present.
Bourdon said he would seek an arrest warrant for Maestas for second degree burglary. The Journal is waiting for verification from Cortez police that an active warrant has been issued.
