Suspect arrested in alleged armed robbery identified
Yuma police have released the name of the suspect arrested Wednesday in connection to an alleged armed robbery of a man standing on a street corner and a brief police chase through the city.
The suspect has been identified as 24-year-old Alejandro Emmanuel Urrea. He is currently being held in the Yuma County jail on $100,000 bond.
Urrea made his initial appearance in Yuma Justice Court on Thursday, at which time he was informed by Yuma Justice of the Peace Greg Stewart that he was being held on charges of armed robbery with a deadly weapon, attempted 2nd-degree murder, attempted possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and theft.
Stewart also informed Urrea that he would be returning to court on Monday and would be told then whether prosecutors from the county attorney’s office had filed a criminal complaint against him, and what offenses, if any, he was being charged with.
He also said that the county attorney’s office had two days to determine whether to file a criminal complaint against him, charging him with any of the offenses.
According to Yuma police, at approximately 6:07 p.m. that evening, officers responded to a report of an armed robbery that took place in the 1500 block of South Avenue A.
When officers arrived on scene, the witness told them that he was standing in the northwest corner of South Avenue A when a white BMW pulled up to him.
A passenger in the vehicle then demanded property from the victim while brandishing a handgun. The handgun appeared to have a malfunction and that is when the victim ran from the area and called police.
A few minutes later, an officer located the vehicle in the area of 8th Street and Avenue B and attempted a traffic stop on it. The driver, however, refused to stop and was pursued by Yuma police officers.
A short time later, the pursuit was called off due to safety reasons.
The vehicle was last seen crossing the Oceanto-Ocean Bridge into California and the Imperial County Sheriff’s Office and Quechan Tribal Police were notified by dispatch.
The white BMW was found abandoned a short time later in a parking lot in Winterhaven and recovered.
Urrea was located back in Yuma at approximately 10:44 p.m. and taken into custody. Yuma police said there are three suspects still outstanding, one male and two females, with unknown descriptions at this time.
The white BMW had been reported stolen shortly after midnight on March 15.
Two Yuma police cars did collide during the pursuit. Neither officer was injured.