September 8, 2010

   FRIENDSWOOD - Three men arrested by the Friendswood and Houston Police Department have been charged in the armed robbery of a Friendswood woman on September 1.

   Jorge Alfonso Martinez, 25, Rodolfo Martinez Maldonado, 21, and Mario Martinez Maldonado, 19, have been charged with Aggravated Robbery in connection with the robbery in the HEB parking lot, 701 W. Parkwood.  The men approached the woman with a gun and took her purse.  

   The robbery was part of a three hour crime spree by the trio.  Houston Police records indicate the group committed similar robberies off Edgebrook at approximately 11:00 a.m. Twenty-five minutes later they committed the same offense at the Walmart on El Dorado.  The Friendswood robbery was next, followed by a robbery in La Marque, of which the trio is also suspected.  In all four robberies the hijackers produced a gun and ordered the female victims to give up their purses.  None of the victims were injured.

   In La Marque, the victim fired her personal gun at the robbers as they fled. 

   Houston Police arrested Martinez for a traffic violation late September 1.  Working together, Friendswood, La Marque and Houston detectives connected the trio to the four robberies.

    The vehicle Martinez was driving had several bullet holes which may be connected to the La Marque robbery.  The 2005 Nissan Pathfinder is being processed by HPD investigators.   Property taken from the victims has been recovered at the residence of two of the men.

   All three are being held at the Harris County jail pending posting of bond as follows:

      Jorge Martinez - 2 counts of Aggravated Robbery with a Deadly Weapon - $80,000 bond per charge and the Friendswood, Galveston County charge of Aggravated Robbery with a $100,000 bond.

    Rodolfo Maldonado - Aggravated Robbery with a Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Robbery of a person over 65 - $35,000 bond per charge and the Friendswood, Galveston County charge of Aggravated Robbery with a $100,000 bond.

   Mario Maldonado - Aggravated Robbery with a Deadly Weapon and Aggravated Robbery of a person over 65 - $35,000 bond per charge and the Friendswood, Galveston County charge of Aggravated Robbery with a $100,000 bond.

   The two Maldonados are brothers.  Martinez is their cousin.  All are from Houston.