'Serial robbers' linked to Dollar General shooting, police say

SAN ANTONIO – Somerset police on Saturday arrested three people suspected in a string of armed robberies, San Antonio Police Department spokesman Carlos Ortiz said.

Hector Aguilar, 18; Nathaniel Panvini, 19; and Kameron Green, 17, were taken into custody at an E-Z Mart at South Loop 1604 around 10 p.m. Saturday.

Ortiz said the Southwest Texas Fusion Center distributed information about the suspects to nearby counties, municipalities and cities, which ultimately led to the group's arrest.

Police said the group robbed a Circle K in the 11000 block of Potranco Road, was involved in a carjacking on the Far West Side and was involved in a shooting at a Southwest Side Dollar General.

Police recovered the stolen vehicle and found several firearms, including a long gun police believe was used in each incident, Ortiz said.

"We know that they've been armed the whole time they've been doing this," Ortiz said. "A lot of times, three suspects have been brandishing firearms in all three of these incidents. So we knew that they were armed. They were armed when they carjacked, they were armed at the time of the Dollar General (shooting), they were armed at the time of the Potranco Circle K robbery."

The three suspects are facing two charges of aggravated robbery, a possible charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the Dollar General shooting. Ortiz said SAPD's homicide detectives are still investigating the Dollar General shooting, which involved four suspects.

READ MORE: Dollar General clerk shot multiple times during robbery was previously stabbed in separate robbery

"We believe, right now, that this is the same group that's responsible for the Dollar General shooting," Ortiz said.

Ortiz said authorities are looking for a fourth suspect in the Dollar General shooting. Because the assailants got away without taking any cash, authorities are working to determine if the incident was, in fact, a robbery.

Timeline:

Friday:

Police said four men walked into a Circle K at 11050 Potranco Road and brandished weapons, including a long rifle. The men had their faces covered and fled after robbing the store. Police said shortly after that incident, they received a call for a shooting inside a Dollar General at 3350 SW Military Drive. The suspects in the shooting matched the description of the four people involved in the earlier robbery.

Saturday:

Four men matching the description of those involved in the other incidents robbed a homeowner of his vehicle at gunpoint while he was standing in his driveway. Some of the suspects took off in the homeowner's Toyota Tacoma, and others took off in a Dodge Neon.

The Fusion Center distributed a "be on the lookout" alert to area law enforcement agencies and shortly after, Somerset police apprehended the three suspects and a female who were in possession of the stolen Tacoma and Dodge Neon.

Police said the three suspects confessed to their involvement in the robberies. They were charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, and police said they will also likely be charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in connection with the Dollar General shooting.