Thread: Robbery suspect is being deported

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Robbery suspect is being deported
Illegal immigrant headed back to Mexico

By Richard Thompson
Contact
August 25, 2006

An illegal immigrant, arrested last week as a suspect in the robbery of Curtis Grocery in Nesbit, is in the process of being deported to Mexico, according to the Hernando Police Department.

Hernando Police Lt. Russell Perry said officials with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services took custody of Rene Lopez around noon Wednesday.

The exact destination where he is being sent in Mexico is unclear. Immigration officials did not return a call Thursday.

Curtis Grocery, a 32-year-old store on U.S. 51, was robbed in the late evening of Aug. 13 or the very early morning hours of Aug. 14.

Police said Lopez was not charged because he was deported.

It's the second time that the store has been robbed. Two years ago, there was an armed robbery; owner Curtis Usry was in the store, but no one was injured. That suspect was arrested and is in jail, Perry said.

In the latest robbery, no one was in the store. The Usrys declined comment.

Cigarettes, lighters and cash were among the items stolen, Perry said.

The store's video system caught the suspect on tape. Lopez, a homeless immigrant, was picked up soon after the robbery, walking on U.S. 51, carrying cigarettes and lighters.

Police also identified him from the store video.

Perry said originally Lopez told police his name was Jose Gonzales.

"He has 30 aliases," said Perry, adding that Lopez gave other false information that raised suspicions.

Lopez's true identity became known after his fingerprints were entered into a national police database and revealed warrants in Florida and Georgia.

In Florida, Perry said, Lopez is wanted for aggravated assault. He's wanted for possession of marijuana in Georgia.

-- Richard Thompson: (662) 996-1407

He will probably be back across the border in a day or two.

Another of Mexico's upstanding citizens.