By Maggie Ybarra
El Paso Times
EL PASO, Tx. -- A SWAT team forced an alleged robber out of his apartment with tear gas early Tuesday.
Angel Sifuentes, 23, had barricaded himself inside the apartment after he allegedly robbed Luna & Sons Grocery and Meat Market, 4611 Dyer, with a knife about 7:15 p.m. Monday, El Paso police spokesman Mike Baranyay said.
The market owner told police he recognized the man who entered the store and brandished a knife. The man jumped over the counter, threatened the owner and demanded money from the cash register, according to a police complaint affidavit.
The owner said he let the man take the cash tray from the register. The man fled with an undisclosed amount of money, according to the affidavit.
Witnesses told police they watched Sifuentes flee with the cash tray and enter a nearby apartment. Some of the witnesses said he lived in the apartment, according to the affidavit.
Police found Sifuentes hiding in an apartment in the 3900 block of Pierce Avenue. Police obtained a search warrant for the residence, but Sifuentes refused to let them in or to leave the apartment, police said.
About 11 p.m., police called for a SWAT team, police said.
A crisis management team spent about two hours trying to persuade Sifuentes to leave the apartment, but Sifunetes did not respond to their attempts to negotiate with him. Eventually, police used tear gas to force him out about 1:20 a.m. Tuesday, Baranyay said.
“They end up putting tear gas in the apartment ... and he comes out and they take him into custody without incident,” he said.
Sifuentes was arrested on suspicion of aggravated robbery and booked into the El Paso County Jail, his bond set at $40,000 bond, police said.
Copyright 2010 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper