Two Odessa men are facing felony robbery charges after Odessa Police officers apprehended them within minutes of a gas station robbery.
According to an OPD report, dispatchers received a report of a robbery in progress at the DK gas station at 7th Street and West County Road around 8:40 p.m. Saturday.
When officers arrived on the scene, dispatchers told them the suspects had just left in a gray Honda and an officer spotted a vehicle matching that description leaving the scene with its headlights off, the report stated.
Inside the Honda, officers found Jesse Villescas, 24, James Ponciano Jr., 43, $481 in cash, a handgun and a pack of Twisted Tea drinks, the report stated.
The gas station clerk told officers Villescas robbed him at gunpoint of cash and Twisted Tea and Ponciano told them he drove Villescas to the station knowing he had a history of stealing from gas stations, the report stated.
Ponciano also said Villescas told him he was going to “mess” with a certain employee at the station, the report stated.
According to the report, when officers took Villescas to Medical Center Hospital to make sure he could be booked into the jail medically, he temporarily got away from them after his handcuffs were removed.
Ponciano was booked into the Ector County jail on one count of aggravated robbery. He remained in custody Monday on a $50,000 surety bond.
Villescas was booked on suspicion of aggravated robbery and escape while arrested. He remained in the jail Monday on surety bonds totaling $65,000.
