Arrest In River Hill Pizza Robbery

From HoCoPo PR:

Howard County Police have charged five Ellicott City men with robbing a Clarksville Pizza Hut last night.

Hugo Ernesto Perez, 30; Pablo Perez Ramos, 30; Adan Perez Ramos, 27; and Tulio Enrique Canas Sandoval, 19, all of 6139 Waterloo Road, each were charged with armed robbery, assault, reckless endangerment, theft and handgun violations.

An arrest warrant was issued for a fifth man, Jose Fidel Lopez, 33, also of 6139 Waterloo Road, who was taken to Shock Trauma with a non-life-threatening leg injury after his own handgun discharged inside the vehicle. He is expected to be released from the hospital and formally charged today.

It is unknown at this time if any of the suspects are members of the same family.

The incident began around 10 p.m. Nov. 30 when four masked men armed with handguns and rifles entered the Pizza Hut located in the 12200 block of Clarksville Pike. A fifth suspect waited inside a white SUV parked outside the restaurant.

The suspects forced the employees into a back area while they obtained money from the safe and registers. The suspects then forced all five employees into a freezer and told them to wait inside while they fled in the waiting vehicle. There were no customers in the restaurant at the time of the robbery and no one was injured.

One of the employees called 911 from the freezer and provided police with suspect and vehicle descriptions. A patrol officer on Route 32 observed a vehicle matching the description and followed it until officers could make a traffic stop in the 7100 block of Minstrel Way in Columbia. Police determined that the men in the vehicle were the suspects from the robbery and placed them into custody. Several weapons and money were recovered.