Three Little Rock teens arrested in carjacking; two charged as adults
Three Little Rock teenagers, including two charged as adults, have now been arrested for allegedly stealing one woman’s car at gunpoint and attempting to steal two others in Garland County Monday night.
Oscar Arroyo, 15, and Angel Martinez, 15, are both charged with three counts of aggravated robbery, punishable by up to life in prison, one count of theft of property, punishable by up to 10 years, and three counts of aggravated assault and one count of theft by receiving, each punishable by up to six years.
The two remain in custody in the Garland County Juvenile Detention Center, but appeared via video in Garland
County Circuit Court Thursday morning and both pleaded not guilty to the charges. A hearing to determine the admissibility of statements they made to Garland County sheriff’s investigators after their arrest is set for July 13.
Judge John Homer Wright issued a gag order limiting pretrial publicity in the case and also issued a court order barring either Arroyo or Martinez from future contact with any of the alleged victims in the case.
The third juvenile suspect, age not listed, was arrested in Little Rock Wednesday on the same charges and is also being held at the Garland County Juvenile Detention Center. As of Thursday, he had not been charged as an adult in the case. The Sentinel-Record follows The Associated Press privacy policy and does not publish the names of juveniles unless they are charged as adults.
According to the probable cause affidavit, on Monday, around 9:45 p.m., a woman said she was driving on Park Avenue near Bud McKinley Road with a couple and their 10-month-old baby as passengers when another vehicle
pulled across the road, blocking their way.
She stated a male then got out of the car and pointed a gun at them. She put her vehicle in reverse and started backing up and the male got back into his vehicle and pulled parallel to her vehicle. He again pointed the gun at them as she pulled forward striking a culvert, and the suspect drove off.
About 25 minutes later, Garland County sheriff’s deputies responded to the 3600 block of Park Avenue and spoke to a woman whose 2016 Toyota Camry had just been stolen at gunpoint. She stated she was eastbound a short time earlier when she noticed a red car with its flashers on heading straight toward her.
She said she pulled to the side of the road and three males exited the red vehicle and ordered her out of her car at gunpoint and then they got in her vehicle and fled west on Park. The woman called 911 and then waited in the red vehicle, a Chevrolet Aveo, abandoned by the suspects. The Aveo had been reported stolen in Pulaski County earlier.
About 25 minutes later, at 10:36 p.m., a third woman drove to the Hot Springs Police Department to report an attempted carjacking. She stated she was driving west on Park in about the 3600 block when a small passenger car swerved into her lane. As she stopped her vehicle, three people got out of the car and pointed a gun at her, but she was able to back up and then get away.
At around 10:54 p.m. Monday, a Saline County sheriff’s deputy spotted a tan Toyota Camry matching the description of the stolen vehicle and attempted a traffic stop, but the driver accelerated and crashed at the intersection of Highway 70 east and Interstate 30. Upon impact, deputies saw three Hispanic males exit the vehicle and flee into the nearby woods where they could not be located.
Shortly before 4 a.m. Tuesday, Saline County deputies saw two juvenile Hispanic males, later identified as Arroyo and Martinez, at JJ’s Truck Stop, located at 6106 Interstate 30. The two attempted to flee but were taken into custody.
When interviewed later by Garland County sheriff’s investigators, Arroyo reportedly admitted they had stolen a gray car from a woman in the Hot Springs area, but wasn’t sure exactly where it occurred. He denied there being a gun involved in the theft. He also admitted to being in the car when it wrecked on Highway 70.
Martinez reportedly admitted to attempting to steal two cars at gunpoint, but they were unsuccessful. He also reportedly admitted to stealing the one woman’s car at gunpoint and then attempting to steal another one at an unknown gas station.