Three Masked Robbers Hit Las Animas Convenience Store

The Bent County Sheriff’s Office arrested three suspects on various charges stemming from an early morning robbery of the Western Convenience Store in Las Animas this past Saturday, November 17.  According to Undersheriff Tandy Hasser, three individuals wearing surgical-type masks and gloves and carrying what appeared to be an AK47 Assault Rifle robbed the store at 3am.  The incident was recorded on a security video camera. 

The Bent County Sheriff’s Office staff responded immediately along with assistance from the Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife and the Colorado State Patrol, and over the course of the next 12 hours, they apprehended and questioned eight suspects, as well as recovered the stolen property and the gun used in the crime.  Hasser said that turned out to be a BB gun, but the clerk believed it to be an AK47 from its appearance. 

Two of the individuals questioned were not involved in the robbery but were held on other non-related warrants.  Three individuals including one juvenile were questioned and released.  Three suspects, Timothy Heffernan and Trenton Carter of Bent County and Dominic Gonzales, were held and charged with Aggravated Assault and Menacing.  In addition, Timothy Heffernan was also charged with Possession of a Weapon by a Previous Offender and Distribution of Marijuana.  No one was injured in the robbery.

By Russ Baldwin