Video, tipsters help Chowchilla police arrest armed robber

A Merced man was arrested Tuesday at his home for robbing a Chowchilla cigarette store at gunpoint.

Norman Enrique Rojas, 32, was identified by anonymous tipsters and parole officers as the man shown on video robbing the Cigarettes 4 Less store in Chowchilla, holding a clerk at gunpoint on July 24, according to a Facebook news release by the Chowchilla Police Department.

Rojas is suspected of robbing the same store and same clerk in 2015, according to the release. The victim of a similar robbery in Turlock also identified Rojas after seeing surveillance footage of the Chowchilla robbery.

Chowchilla police posted a public notice July 25 on Facebook with the surveillance footage asking the public for help with any information about the suspect.

In the coming days, anonymous tips and a positive identification by Rojas’ Merced County probation officer led Chowchilla police to Rojas, according to the release.

On Tuesday, the Merced County Sheriff’s Office received a call stating that Rojas was causing a disturbance at his Merced home. But he fled the home and was seen jumping fences, the release states.

However, at about 6 a.m. Wednesday, deputies received a tip that Rojas came back home during the night. deputies conducted a probation and consent search of the home and found him hiding in a bedroom closet.

Rojas was being held Wednesday in the Madera County Jail for armed robbery with no bond set, according to jail records. The release didn’t state if Rojas was being charged in connection to the Turlock robbery.

This story was originally published August 2, 2017 at 7:13 PM with the headline "Video, tipsters help Chowchilla police arrest armed robber."