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Campbell--San Jose Police announced Sept. 28, that they had arrested two suspects wanted for a series of armed robberies of small businesses.
One suspect was wanted in connection with three armed robberies in San Jose, but Campbell police picked him up for being intoxicated in a park.
When police processed Angel Mendoza, 22, they found a newspaper clipping about the San Jose robberies in his wallet.
Mendoza and Frank Martinez, 25, allegedly held up a Discount Mini Mart, Jack in the Box and a 7-Eleven in August.
Campbell police Sgt. Art Markham and Officer David Mendez found Mendoza when they responded to a report of suspicious circumstances on Sept. 16.
When they arrived, they found Mendoza intoxicated in a park. Mendoza was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance.
Because Mendoza fit the article's description of one of the suspects, Campbell police notified San Jose police, who questioned Mendoza.
Four days later, Mendoza was arrested and charged in the robberies. Four days after that, Martinez was also arrested.
"It's a little odd that you would have a specific news clipping for robberies," said San Jose police spokesman Rubens Dalaison. "In our work, it's called a clue."
Mendoza and Martinez are each in custody on three counts of armed robbery and four counts of false imprisonment.
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Newspaper clipping leads to arrests in series of robberies
Steven Raphael
Web extra to the October 5-11, 2000 issue of Metro.