A New Mexico man accused of stealing money bags from a Durango gas station in July pleaded not guilty Friday to felony robbery and misdemeanor theft.
Adrian Chavez, 39, who is free on $10,000 bail appeared Friday before District Court Judge William Herringer. He is suspected of robbing three money bags containing a total of $1,750 from the Four Star Exxon in the 1200 block of Carbon Junction near Walmart, according to the Durango Police Department.
Prosecutors charged Chavez with robbery, a Class 4 felony punishable by two to six years in prison and a fine of $2,000 to $500,000, and Class 1 misdemeanor theft, which is punishable by six to 18 months in jail and a fine of $500 to $5,000.
Police say Chavez grabbed three bank bags from an open safe behind the clerk’s counter at the Four Star Exxon on July 3, court documents show. A clerk at the gas station, a 62-year-old woman, grabbed the bank bags and tried to stop Chavez as he escaped the business, according to police.
But Chavez allegedly pushed the clerk off him, causing her to fall and injure her hip and elbow.
A 59-year-old maintenance man for Brennan Oil and another individual, identified as a 37-year-old man, were “physically subduing Chavez until police (deputies) arrived,” court documents show.
Law enforcement suspect Chavez was running to a white Toyota Avalon, where Alexandra Tafoya, 35, was waiting with the vehicle running.
Chavez told law enforcement that he committed the robbery and that Tafoya, his girlfriend, “had nothing to do with the crime,” police wrote in arresting documents.
Herringer set a three-day jury trial for Jan. 13. Chavez is ordered to abstain from alcohol and other drugs as he awaits trial.
bhauff@durangoherald.com
