Cop Shop

A man suspected of robbing a Chandler bank on Monday has turned himself into authorities after his girlfriend convinced him to call the Mesa Police Department and confess.

According to Chandler Police spokesman Frank Mendoza, Jose Luis Morales Jr. was recognized by a sheriff’s employee as a previous inmate in a news broadcast. Morales’ girlfriend also saw a news broadcast of her friend and later convinced him to call police on Thursday.

Mesa Police responded to his home near the intersection of Main Street and Extension Road to take Morales into custody Wednesday, according to Mesa spokesman Sgt. Ed Wessing.

Morales, 36, is suspected of robbing a Chase Bank inside of a Fry’s store near the intersection of Dobson and Ray roads on Monday at 4:45 p.m.

Chandler police are searching for a man who Tuesday afternoon robbed the Chase Bank branch inside Fry’s at 1950 W. Ray Road. The man entered the bank area, approached a teller, demanded money with specific instructions not to activate the alarm, and threatened the teller with a weapon if she didn’t comply. Once the man got money, he fled on foot. The case is under investigation.

The robber is described as a white or Hispanic male, approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall, 165 pounds, medium build, wearing a white shirt, with blue elbow-length sleeves with white stripes on the blue sleeves, blue jeans and black shoes.

Anyone with information is asked to call (480) 782-4130.

Chandler police early Saturday found a man outside the Chandler Public Library who, after arguing with his girlfriend at their mobile home, they said tried to overdose on methamphetamine.

Officers found Jose Parra, 29, passed out on the west side of the library. He was taken to a hospital, treated and released into police custody. Chandler police spokesman Dave Ramer said Parra had an outstanding drug-related warrant.

Ramer said a K-9 unit located Parra at about 3:30 a.m. He was unconscious. Ramer said if police hadn’t gotten to Parra when they did, it’s likely he would have died.

Police received a call at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday in the 400 block of East Erie Street about a couple arguing. The woman told police that her boyfriend, Parra, was upset and kicked wood siding on the trailer and cut electrical cords to security lighting as he left. He also took her cell phone. Having the phone helped police in finding Parra, according to Ramer.

A man suspected of robbing several East Valley pharmacies was arrested last month according to a report released Thursday by Chandler authorities.

Matthew Kell, 30, was arrested in Anaheim, California on suspicion of stealing Oxycotin pain pills from several pharmacies in Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, and Gilbert.

Kell, a former Walgreens employee, was recognized by another former Walgreens employee and an off-duty Chandler officer who recognized him inside a fitness center.

According to authorities, Kell is being charged on suspicion of burglary, theft and robbery. Chandler authorities did not know where Kell was being held late Thursday.

Chandler police are searching for two men who forced two people down on the floor, including one with an infant, during a robbery Monday.

Police said both robbers were described as Hispanic. One is about 40 years old, 5 feet 6 inches tall and heavy-set. His accomplice is in his early 20s, about 5 feet 6 inches tall with a thin build. Both were wearing a light-colored shirt, blue jeans and a baseball cap.

Chandler police spokesman Detective David Ramer said the robbery occurred about 1 p.m. at Tania Discoteca, 1060 N. Arizona Ave.

The two men ordered a clerk and a customer, who was holding a child, onto the floor at gunpoint and stole less than $1,000. Police wouldn’t say exactly how much was stolen.

Ramer said he will release a sketch of the robbers when it becomes available.

Chandler police are seeking help in a bank robbery case. At approximately 10:45 a.m. Saturday, a man robbed the M&I Bank at 1990 W. Chandler Boulevard. The man entered the bank and yelled for every one to get down on the floor. He had tellers give him money, which he put into a black backpack before fleeing. He is described as white, in his early to mid-20s, approximately 6-feet tall, average build, with short light brown wavy hair. He may have had a goatee and/or heavy stubble. He wore a white long sleeved button down shirt, black gloves, blue jeans and a nylon stocking over his head with dark sunglasses.

Chandler police have released an image of the man from the bank’s surveillance video. They ask anyone with information to call (480) 782-4130.

Chandler police are looking for a man who, at 1 a.m. Tuesday, held up a clerk at the Circle K, 1262 W. Chandler Road. Police said the clerk told them the man told her he had a gun, but she never saw one. The man hit the clerk as he told her to get down to the floor. Police said the clerk told them she was hit so hard that she thought she had been shot. She was taken to a hospital and treated for blunt force trauma.
Police said the man is black, 5-feet-8-inches tall, about 185 pounds, in his 40s, with a beard and moustache. He was wearing sunglasses, a white under shirt and tan flowered-print shirt.

A Chandler Jack in the Box was robbed early Saturday morning by three men who demanded money from the register and punched an employee in the face, police say.

According to Chandler police spokesman David Ramer, three men entered a Jack in the Box on Riggs and McQueen roads just before 4 a.m.  The two male employees of the restaurant told the three men that they were closed, but one of the suspects cussed at them and punched an employee in the face, Ramer said.

After the assault, one of the suspects displayed a weapon and demanded money from the employees, Ramer said.  The men made off with less than $500, according to Ramer.

None of the suspects were apprehended and no specific descriptions of the men were available.