By Frank DeLoache
Salisbury Post
Concord and Kannapolis police suspect the same two men robbed a Hispanic grocery store in Concord on Saturday night and, a few minutes later, a What-A-Burger restaurant in Kannapolis.
The first robbery occurred between 8 and 8:30 p.m. when two men entered La Tienda, a small Hispanic grocery store at 236 McGill Ave.
Concord Police Capt. T.R. Templeton said one of the men brandished a handgun. They left after grabbing cash from the register. No shots were fired, and no one was injured, Templeton said.
A La Tienda employee reported seeing a grayish colored vehicle “that was kinda beat up” drive away.
Employees described the suspects as “youngish, in their 20s,” Hispanic men with “light complexions,” Templeton said.
A few minutes later, two men robbed the What-A-Burger at 923 S. Main St. in Kannapolis.
Kannapolis police had not issued a description of the men, except to say they were Hispanic and may have been driving a silver Mercury Sable. Saturday night, Kannapolis police had not reported what type of weapon was used in the second robbery.
Templeton, the Concord police captain, noted that La Tienda was one of two Hispanic businesses robbed in Concord last August by young Hispanic males.
Two Charlotte teens were eventually charged with those robberies as well as robberies in Kannapolis. At least one of the teens was also a suspect in a robbery in Huntersville.
The oldest of the two, 17-year-old Perfecto Rios, was arrested with the help of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police/FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force. The task force identified Rios as a member of a Hispanic gang.
The second teen was 15 and faced charges as a juvenile.
Rios was eventually charged with five counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of first-degree rape and one count of first-degree kidnapping.