Man arrested in connection with armed pharmacy robberies in Hollister

Two search warrants served Friday in Hollister led to the arrest of a man suspected of committing a series of armed robberies at pharmacies over the last seven months.

Hollister police said Rodolfo Duarte, 36, of Hollister, was arrested in connection with the robberies and was booked into jail.

The first robbery was reported Aug. 29, 2016, at the Rite-Aid Pharmacy at 1701 Airline Hwy. The ANSR Pharmacy at 581 McCray St. was robbed on Nov. 17, 2016, and Dec. 27, 2016. The final robbery was reported Feb. 6 at Lucky’s Pharmacy at 251 McCray St.

A Hollister police investigator spotted the suspects motorcycle on Thursday at a local repair shop.

A search warrant was obtained on Friday..

We have been working this case for a long time. I have been bugging our detectives quite a lot on these cases. This was the break in the case we needed,” said Hollister police Chief David Westrick.

A search warrant served Friday led investigators to a house in the 1600 block of Valley View Road.

Officers said items found inside the home tied Duarte to the crimes.

Duarte was arrested and booked into jail with bail set at $220,000.