At approximately 10:50 a.m. on Saturday, January 20, 2018, San Angelo Police responded to the Super Mercado located at 1505 South Chadbourne for the report of an armed robbery in the parking lot just north of the store.
Responding Officers learned that prior to the robbery, the male victim, a 25-year-old San Angelo resident, had corresponded with the suspect through Facebook regarding the sale of the victim’s gaming system. The suspect, who went by the Facebook username of Alex Olvera, expressed interest in purchasing the system and then made arrangements to meet the victim in the store’s parking lot. At some point during the transaction, the suspect pointed a handgun at the victim before he fled the scene on foot. No one was injured during the incident, which was captured on the store’s surveillance video.
Officers were shown the suspect’s Facebook Page and immediately developed a possible location for the suspect in the 1200 block of South Hill Street.
The Department’s Criminal Investigations Division responded for further investigation and the Department’s newly formed Anti-Crime Unit (ACU) began surveillance.
After several hours of surveillance, members of ACU and K9 Units along with members of the Patrol and Criminal Investigations Divisions established a perimeter around the residence and attempted to make contact with the suspect. Soon after, the suspect surrendered to Officers without incident. He was identified as Alejandro “Alex” Raymond Olvera, 26.
During a warrant search of the residence in which Olvera was taken in to custody, Investigators located and seized the victim’s stolen property, the clothing Olvera was wearing when he committed the robbery, as well as the suspected handgun used during the robbery.
Olvera is currently detained at the Tom Green County Jail in lieu of $50,000.00 bond, charged with Aggravated Robbery.
Both law enforcement and Facebook Officials urge users to exercise caution when engaging in face-to-face meetings to buy and sell items. Safety tips include:
- Meet people in well-lit public places that have working surveillance cameras
- Avoid carrying large amounts of cash (Use a service like PayPal or Apple Pay)
- Avoid meeting the buyer/seller alone (Bring friends or family members with you)
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