Two men held in armed robberies

Police arrested two men suspected of robbing a gas station in Eldorado of $300 earlier this month, as well as two recent robberies in Las Vegas, N.M.

Robert Vigil, 18, of Cleveland, N.M., and Zayan Jeremiah Hernandez, 18, of Rainsville were being held without bond Monday in the Santa Fe County jail.

Police identified the two men, who were arrested Sunday, as the thieves who took off with cash from the Phillips 66 gas station on Colina Drive, off U.S. 285 on Aug. 8.

A clerk at the gas station told sheriff ’s deputies that he was checking the area outside the building shortly before 10 p.m. when a man came out of the dark and pointed a handgun at him. The clerk was forced inside the building, and another man emptied the cash register, according to the sheriff ’s office, which reported that both men tried to conceal their identities by wearing bandanas, sunglasses and baseball caps.

Las Vegas police suspect Hernandez and Vigil stole $500 from a sports store on July 30, according to court documents. On Aug. 2, Las Vegas police say Hernandez, Vigil and an unidentified man stole an unspecified amount of cash and items from a clothing store.

Both men were booked on armed robbery counts in connection with the three incidents. Vigil faces additional charges of unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon and unlawful possession of a handgun by a person under 19.