Arrest in armed robbery near Clovis school, police say

CLOVIS, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A man was arrested following an armed robbery near a Clovis elementary school, the city’s police department said.

Police say on Jan. 8, officers responded to the area of Barstow and Pollasky avenues around 8:30 p.m. to speak to the victim of an armed robbery that had reportedly happened minutes before.

According to police, the victim reported that he was next to Sierra Vista Elementary School when the suspect pointed a handgun at him and demanded jewelry and property. The suspect then ripped the victim’s necklace around his neck and also stole two bracelets before walking away into an apartment complex nearby.

According to police, officers used a UAV and other technology to locate the suspect in one of the apartments. After more than 10 minutes of loud announcements, police say he walked out of the apartment with his toddler in his arms.

The suspect was later identified as 19-year-old Anthony Sifuentes of Clovis.

Officers say they then took the suspect into custody and handed the toddler to his mother, who was also there.

Police say while searching Sifuentes’ apartment they found one of the victim’s bracelets inside, and the gun and the other evidence on the roof.

Sifuentes was booked into the Fresno County Jail on Thursday for suspicion of multiple charges related to armed robbery.