By Khalida Sarwari
A 25-year-old San Jose man was arraigned in Santa Clara County Superior Court on three felony charges today in connection with a robbery and shooting last week, a district attorney’s spokeswoman said.
Roman Aguilar was charged with one count of robbery in the second degree, one count of attempted murder and one count of assault with a firearm, district attorney’s spokeswoman Amy Cornell said.
The charges stem from an incident at the Mexican Brothers Market at 100 West Alma Ave. in San Jose about 4:45 p.m. on Friday involving a 42-year-old female clerk.
Aguilar allegedly walked into the store, approached the clerk at the cash register and demanded money at gunpoint, according to police. The clerk obeyed and Aguilar grabbed an undisclosed amount of cash from the drawer, police said. Aguilar allegedly shot the clerk once and then ran out of the store south on Sanborn Avenue, police said.
The victim was taken to a hospital to be treated for a wound that is not life-threatening, police said.
A resident called police about 7:10 p.m. to report a man with a bandana covering his face was standing in her driveway, police said. The resident told police she recognized him as the same person who had previously fired a weapon into a neighboring home. When Aguilar saw that the resident was watching him, he ran away, police said.
Officers responded to the 1200 block of Panoche Avenue, about 2.5 miles east of Mexican Brothers Market, and located Aguilar at his home. Aguilar denied involvement in the robbery, police said.
Officers searched his home and found a firearm and similar clothing that matched the description of the robbery suspect, as well as money believed to have been taken during the commission of the robbery, according to police.
San Jose police officers arrested Aguilar without incident.
Aguilar is being held at Santa Clara County main jail on no bail. He is expected to enter a plea on Monday.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact Detective Adam Hutson of the Police Department robbery unit at (408) 277-4166 or anonymously at (408) 947-STOP (7867).