Sheriff’s Investigators Arrest Armed Robbery Suspect
APTOS—Have you ever used an automatic teller machine and have that uneasy feeling that someone was watching? Well, for one Soquel woman that feeling came true. While using the ATM machine at the Bay Federal Credit Union on Post Drive in Aptos, she was confronted by two males wearing black ski masks.
Miguel Angel Hernandez, 20
One of the two men held a gun to her head and demanded that she give them money. She complied with their instruction and the men took her money and fled on foot. Sheriff’s Deputies canvassed the area but did not locate the suspects.
They obtained surveillance footage from the ATM of the robbery and found that the suspects wore clothing with distinctive features and had distinctive physical characteristics.
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the University of California Santa Cruz Police Department, began working on clues from the clothing the suspects wore the night of the robbery. The two departments quickly came up with Miguel Angel Hernandez, 20, of Royal Oaks as a person of interest in this case.
On Monday, February 4, detectives, with the Sheriff’s Office, found Hernandez at his home in Royal Oaks. Hernandez was arrested and transported and booked into the Santa Cruz County Jail. Detectives were able to match Hernandez to the robbery by his characteristics that matched those of the suspect depicted in the surveillance video.
“It was great investigative work that led to the development of Hernandez as a suspect,” Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputy April Skalland said. “Crimes like this impact people for a long time so it is good for them that we catch the suspects, gives them ‘peace of mind’.”
Hernandez is charged with robbery in the second degree. His bail has been set at $150,000. He appeared in court on Wednesday, February 6. The sheriff’s Office is still actively investigating this case in an attempt to identify the second suspect.
Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact the Santa Cruz Sheriff’s Office at 831-4711121 or by email at shf236@co.santa-cruz.ca.us.
Read More:
Santa Cruz Sentinel: Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Deputies Arrest Royal Oaks Man in Aptos ATM Robbery
Central Coast News: Man Arrested for ATM Robbery in Aptos
