Man arrested after back-to-back convenience store robberies

SAN BENITO, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Cameron County Sheriff's Office arrested a man who allegedly committed back-to-back robberies in San Benito.

Authorities identified the robbery suspect as 31-year-old Julian Ulises Reyes Pena.

The first robbery happened around 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Korner Market store on McCullough Rd.

Authorities say Pena approached the cashier and demanded the cash from the register.

Pena reportedly never displayed a weapon but the clerk feared Pena would shoot if he did not get money.

Authorities say Pena left the Korner Market with $400 and left in a vehicle in a Chevy Tahoe with a large sticker on the back windshield of the last name "Reyes."

The next morning at 1:50 a.m., deputies responded to a second robbery at a Stripes on Highway 281 and FM 1577.

After speaking with the victim, deputies and investigators were able to confirm the store was robbed by the same suspect as the robbery at the Korner Market.

The suspect vehicle with the "Reyes" sticker was then located and unoccupied on a street near Stripes on Highway 281.

After confirming the suspect’s identity, Sheriff’s Investigators obtained arrest warrants for Julian Ulises Reyes Pena for two counts of Robbery, a 2nd Degree Felony on Wednesday.

Pena was found hours after the second robbery sitting in a car outside another local Stripes store.

He was arrested and taken to Carrizales Rucker Detention Center for arraignment on two robbery charges.