Denver police tonight arrested a man accused of shooting a shopkeeper and beating the victim’s wife during a robbery.
The arrest of 19-year-old Patrick Perez came just hours after police appealed to the public for help in identifying the suspect in Wednesday’s violent robbery at the Third Avenue Market, south of downtown Denver.
Police offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to the gunman’s arrest and also released surveillance photos that clearly showed the suspect’s face in the hopes that someone would identify him.
This afternoon, police canvassed the area around the shop — located at West Third Avenue and Elati Street — showing the surveillance pictures. While doing that, officers gathered information that led them to Perez, police spokesman Sonny Jackson said in a news release.
Perez is being held in Denver City Jail on suspicion of two counts of attempted first-degree murder, one count of aggravated assault of an at-risk adult and one count of aggravated robbery.
Police say a gunman entered the Third Avenue Market just after 9 a.m. Wednesday and demanded money. The shopkeeper started to open the cash register when the robber shot him in the mouth. The robber jumped over the counter and tried to open the register when the victim’s wife came out of the bathroom.
Police said the man pulled the trigger several times, aiming the gun at the woman, but it misfired. He then assaulted the woman and fled.
The shopkeeper and his wife suffered serious injuries, but have, nonetheless, returned to work.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
