Police have identified the man they say was shot and injured by a Circle K clerk as he tried to rob the convenience store Monday afternoon as 23-year-old Ferron Mendez.
The clerk who shot Mendez is not facing any charges.
Officer Tanner Tixier, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department, said her name is not being released for her safety.
Shortly before 4 p.m. Monday, police were called to Circle K at Eubank and Candelaria NE for an attempted armed robbery. They were on their way to the store when they were told the suspect had been shot by a clerk.
When they arrived, police found Mendez in the parking lot behind the store with a gunshot wound in his torso. He was taken to the University of New Mexico Hospital, where he was in serious but stable condition Tuesday morning.
“He will be booked (into jail) upon his release from the hospital,” Tixier said.
Tixier said he will likely be charged with armed robbery and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
Detectives continue to investigate whether Mendez was involved in another armed robbery at a nearby 7-Eleven on Candelaria and Wyoming NE about 20 minutes before the Circle K was hit.
“The detective has to look at surveillance video and get more information,” Tixier said. “More charges are possible.”
Mendez has no criminal history in New Mexico, according to online court records. Tixier said that the suspect has a Pennsylvania driver’s license, but that he didn’t know whether he has a criminal history there.
