3 suspects arrested in Salinas armed robbery

Late Wednesday morning, a 16 year old juvenile and 18 year old Xavier Reyes entered the Smoke Shop on the 100 block of East Laurel in Salinas. Reyes was armed with a replica semi-automatic weapon and approached the cashier and demanded money.

The cashier believed the weapon to be real and handed over the cash to the suspects. Police say, prior to leaving, the suspects stole several glass smoking devices and t-shirts. They then ran to an awaiting vehicle driven by 18 year old Joseph Viloria.

Several witnesses came forward and provided vehicle and suspect description information to the police.

A patrol officer was in the area of Linwood Drive and Chapparal Street when the call came out about the robbery. The officer observed the vehicle at the intersection and followed the car until Viloria pulled into a driveway in the 400 block of Modoc, directly across from Natividad School.

The school was placed on lock-down and all three suspects were taken into custody without incident.

All of the cash and products were recovered and returned to the business.