An Atascadero man was arrested Friday in connection with an armed robbery last month at a tobacco shop in Santa Barbara.
Eddie Aldo Martinez-Brito, 22, was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on suspicion of armed robbery and making criminal threats, said Anthony Wagner, a Santa Barbara Police Department spokesman.
At about 1 p.m. on March 31, officers were dispatched to a tobacco retailer on the 4000 Block of Calle Real to investigate a robbery that had just occurred.
The suspect was described as a Hispanic male wearing a surgical mask and dark clothing, Wagner said.
The robber produced a semi-automatic pistol and demanded cash and marijuana “bongs,” Wagner said, while threatening to shoot the clerk.
The suspect fled and was last seen entering a vehicle through a back alley, Wagner said, adding that a security video was discovered in the area and captured a female getaway driver.
On Friday, while serving search warrants in San Luis Obispo County, detectives located both the male suspect and the female getaway driver.
Live ammunition and a replica handgun were also recovered, as was some of the marijuana paraphernalia taken in the robbery.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.