Suspects arrested in Old West-style robbery

It looked like the Wild West in Round Rock Wednesday afternoon as three people held up a convenience store at gunpoint and rode off on horseback with the loot.

By sunset, Navajo Nation Police and Apache County Sheriff's deputies had cornered two suspects in the wash behind the store and another was apprehended at a nearby residence.

The case was turned over to the FBI. The suspects' names have not been released pending investigation.

Deputy André Leonard said the Navajo Nation Police received a call reporting the robbery at 4:17 p.m. Store Manager Robert Yazzie told police three individuals in ski masks had entered the store. Two pointed guns at him and demanded the money in the till. Yazzie handed over the cash, about $200.

Witnesses reported seeing people riding off on horses into the wash, where tbey were discovered by police a few hours later, having abandoned the horses and fled on foot into some vegetation, according to Leonard.

"Residents in the area, some of whom had police scanners, were very helpful in reporting where they had last seen the suspects," Leonard said.

The deputy added the police had sought air support for the search from the Arizona Division of Public Safety, but the DPS refused to send an aircraft because there were weapons involved.

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