November 24, 1970
By Bruce Bissonete
El Paso Times
Police had high praise for two youths Monday who displayed their eagerness to “get involved” by capturing a gunman moments after he held up a Northeast El Paso menswear store. With the arrest of the robbery suspect, a Ft. Bliss soldier, police hoped they had cleared four other recent robberies including one that occurred earlier Monday morning.
Charged with robbery in a warrant issued by Justice of the Peace Ben Mejia was Cleo K. Pierce, 35. Pierce said he was a staff sergeant stationed at Ft. Bliss.
But police and Norman Goldberg, manager of Rayburn’s Men’s Wear, 8534 Dyer, had the highest praise for two young men who unhesitatingly chased the suspect across the Sunrise Shopping Center parking lot, nabbing their quarry with a flying tackle despite the fact the man was armed and made an attempt to fire the weapon.
The youths, Ernie Mijares, 19, and Rudy Martinez, 18, were shopping in the store when they heard Goldberg shout that he had been robbed. Goldberg said young Mijares sprinted to the front of the store and ran outside in pursuit of the gunman who was already well on his way to freedom.
“I didn’t even know what he looked like,” said Mijares, “but I saw this man running across the lot and he kept looking back over his shoulder toward me.” The youth, followed closely by his companion, chased the suspect diagonally across the lot finally bring him down with a football style flying tackle.
The two struggled on the pavement with the suspect severely biting young Mijares on his left arm in his attempt to get away. “He had the gun in his hand and was on top of me,” said Mijares, “when Rudy jumped on top of the man. The gun clicked as we fought and then a man ran up and put his foot on the hand that was holding the gun.”
Martinez disarmed the man just as motorcycle patrolman Clyde Clark rode into the parking lot in response to a call that a man with a gun was being held. Martinez was handicapped in the fracas. His left arm was in a cast, the result of a mishap a few weeks ago.
Pierce was taken to Police Headquarters where he was identified in a police lineup in connection with the Rayburn robbery and the holdup of the Handy Dandy Drive-In Grocery, 4100 Dyer, at 2:45 p.m. Monday. Police said two other robberies were cleared with the arrest and that a fifth would likely be cleared Tuesday.
The robberies cleared, police said, in addition to those of Monday, included Given’s Shoe Box, in Sunrise-Center, on Nov. 19, and the Hilltop Barber Shop, in the 2400 block of N. Piedras, on Nov. 17.
JOP, Benjamin Mejia was my grandfather. RIP.
Posted by: [email protected] | September 11, 2010 at 09:24 PM