For the second time in the past three months, Las Cruces Police have arrested Lucio Esteban Vargas on suspicion of committing an armed robbery at the same downtown convenience store. Vargas, 22, is charged with one count of armed robbery. Vargas was located and arrested within half an hour of the armed robbery.
Shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 13, Las Cruces Police were dispatched to the report of an armed robbery at the Pic Quik store at 127 E. Amador Ave. Detectives learned that the store’s assistant manager saw Vargas standing in line and recognized him as the same person who had twice threatened to rob the Pic Quik during the previous two days. Detectives learned that Vargas approached the assistant manager, displayed a handgun and demanded money from the store’s register.
After obtaining cash from the register, Vargas is believed to have left the store on foot. Within about 30 minutes officers located Vargas as he walked along a canal near downtown Las Cruces. The weapon Vargas is believed to have used was located on the rooftop of a building near the PicQuik.
On Nov. 23, 2013, Vargas was arrested by Las Cruces Police and charged for the armed robbery of the same Pic Quik store. In that incident, Vargas is believed to have displayed a handgun before walking out with an undisclosed amount of cash.
Vargas was arrested about an hour after the Nov. 23 incident and was subsequently charged with armed robbery.
On Thursday, Vargas was booked into the Dona Ana County Detention Center with bond set at $25,000.