Two Salem men face charges alleging they robbed a market near the Four Corners neighborhood earlier this month.
A Marion County grand jury indicted Constantino Temoxtle-Tlehuactle, 38 of Corvallis, on two counts of second-degree robbery and second-degree assault on Dec. 19 in Marion County Circuit Court. Evaristo Temoxtle-Tlehuactle, 38, was indicted that same day on charges of second-degree robbery and second-degree assault.
On Dec. 9, police responded to a report of an armed robbery in progress at A C stop market at 100 Lancaster Dr. N.E., according to a Salem Police Department affidavit.
The reporting officer wrote that as he walked into the store, he saw a the victim, a store employee, pressing a paper towel to the top of his head. The victim said that two men walked into the store at 8:43 p.m., one went to the beer cooler and the second went to the other side of the store.
The victim told police that the first suspect then walked around the counter, pulled a gun and pointed it at him. The man then shook the gun, “smacked” the victim over the top of his head with the gun, grabbed the cash register and ran. The second suspect also held the victim’s arm with both of his hands while the first suspect was pointing the gun and ripping the register out, the affidavit said.
The weapon used in the incident was an airsoft pistol, according to the indictments.
Surveillance video described in the affidavit matched the victim’s description of the incident.
Salem police detained the two men, later identified as Constantino and Evaristo Temoxtle-Tlehuactle, near the store. Both men admitted to police that they robbed the store, the report said.
Constantino Temoxtle-Tlehuactle told police that Evaristo was his half-brother and that they met and planned to rob the store. He added that he was the one with the gun and admitted to hitting the employee, ripping out the cash register, handing it to Evaristo and hiding it nearby along with the gun and some of their clothes, according to the report.
Evaristo Temoxtle-Tlehuactle told police he didn’t have a gun but “admitted to being the second guy,” and said that they needed money, according to the report.
In a separate case, a Marion County grand jury in 2013 indicted Evaristo Temoxtle-Tlehuactle on charges of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument and driving under the influence. He is scheduled to enter a plea in that case on Friday.
His half-brother, Constantino Temoxtle-Tlehuactle, was indicted in November 2016 on charges of first-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, possession of methamphetamine, driving under the influence, failure to perform duties of a driver when property is damaged, and recklessly endangering another person. A status check for that case is scheduled for Jan. 4, 2023.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
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Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
