On Nov. 13 about 5:51 p.m., police responded to a panic alarm at the Good to Go Gas Station on 302 W. Main St. that had been robbed by a man who continued Tuesday to elude police.
Cortez Police officer Joseph Yen arrived on the scene, he said in his incident report that he came in contact with Good to Go employee Kelly Jo Naron, who was crying and saying she had been robbed.
Naron told police that the suspect, a white male with long brown hair, was parked at Pump 7 in his silver SUV before entering the gas station. The vehicle had Colorado license plates.
According to Naron, when the suspect came into the gas station, he told her that it was a robbery and to put her hands up. After Naron asked the man if was serious, he told her he was serious and that he had to do it because he was going through a rough time.
The suspect proceeded to take all of the money from the register, which Naron said she believed to be about $750. She said there was possibly a $100 bill, two $50 bills and $20 bills totaling around $200. There was no record of the potential number of bills smaller than $20.
Before leaving, the man also took a box of Snickers, according to Naron. She then activated a panic alarm, alerting the police station of her predicament.
Before police arrived, a customer entered the store and cut the zip ties off her hands before calling 911.
Good to Go manager Brandon Mueller arrived a short time later and showed officers the video surveillance footage of the robbery.
The surveillance video shows the suspect walking into the east entrance of the store, wearing a blue sweater, bluejeans and clear glasses. His hair was tied back in a pony tail. Yen said he had a “slender build.”
After observing Naron for a moment, the suspect approached her and zip-tied her hands before making her unlock the register. After getting the money and checking to make sure there wasn’t any under the tray, he zip-tied her feet, took a box of Snickers and left the store through the door that he had entered.
Detective Traci Mueller tried to find fingerprints, but according to Yen’s report, there were none to be found.
The suspect was driving a 2017 silver Hyundai Sante Fe, and he is been sought by officers in Arizona as well, after allegedly committed a robbery at Lake Powell Resort in Page a few days earlier.
The vehicle has Colorado Navajo Nation license plates with the number EYA52A and a Bigfoot sticker on the rear window.
The suspect and vehicle were still at large Tuesday. Police describe the suspect as a white male around 6-feet-2 inches and around 185 pounds.
Anyone with information is urged to call 911 for an urgent tip, Cortez dispatch at (970) 565-8411 or to submit a tip through the Crimewatch app.
