A Santa Maria man is behind bars Tuesday morning after robbing a local liquor store Monday night, police say.
Officers say they received reports of a man with a handgun in the liquor store on the 1500 block of S. Broadway at about 7:45 p.m. Police say the suspect stole an alcoholic drink from the store while brandishing a gun and refused to pay for the drink.
Police identified the suspect at Anthony Prado, 28, and arrested him when he returned to the liquor store as officers were conducting their investigation at the business.
Santa Maria police say a woman contacted officers Monday night to report that the same man stole things from her motel room and when she tried to take the stolen property back from him, Prado pulled out what looked like a gun.
Officer later located a pellet gun about a block away from the liquor store and determined Prado had used it during both robberies. Police say the pellet gun looked like a real handgun.
Prado was booked into Santa Barbara County Jail on robbery charges.
