Two young adults and a juvenile are in custody at the Cochise County jail, all accused of participating in armed robberies last February that terrorized employees of two businesses and led to BOLO alerts being issued to law enforcement officials in surrounding counties and states.
Logan Porter Wolfgang Martin and Kira Jo Hodges, both 18, are each being held on $75,000 bond related to robberies which occurred on the morning of Feb. 18, 2021 in Sierra Vista and Benson. Martin was taken into custody in late December, while Hodges was booked into jail Wednesday.
Information on the juvenile arrested in the case on Friday in Tucson was not available as of press time.
One of the businesses robbed last February was Benson Donuts, which is located a few blocks from Interstate 10. Surveillance video captured the harrowing robbery as a tall, thin white male thrust a knife in the direction of the proprietress as a shorter white female stood nearby.
Both suspects were wearing distinctive hoodies and had on public health face masks. Less than an hour earlier, the same couple had entered a Circle K in Sierra Vista after which the male displayed a knife to employees.
It was suspected at the time that someone may have been waiting for the couple in a vehicle outside the businesses. Law enforcement officials as far away as Texas were on the lookout after receiving images pulled from the surveillance video showing the couple’s clothing.
Yet despite the high alert and various media reports which featured the video, several leads received by the Benson and Sierra Vista Police Departments didn’t pan out.
Then late last month, detectives received a tip which led them to Martin, who lives in Tucson. He was taken into custody Dec. 29 on charges of armed robbery, aggravated robbery, and robbery.
News of Martin’s arrest and subsequent indictment were kept quiet due to the fact two other suspects remained at large. Earlier this week SVPD Det. John Andela obtained information to support Hodges’ Jan. 19 arrest on the same charges. And on Friday, Andela booked the juvenile into jail.
Additional information about how and when the three came under suspicion won’t likely be available until Monday, according to court officials.
The armed robberies, which netted the criminals an undisclosed amount of cash, shook up residents in Sierra Vista and Benson due to the fact both businesses were hit during typically busy times.
The owner of Benson Donuts shut down for a few days after the robbery, but reopened to a groundswell of support from the community. News of her experience attracted a flood of new customers from across the state, as well as interstate travelers who stopped to show their support after hearing about the robbery.
MORE ABOUT THE ROBBERIES: HERE
