Two Arrested In Series Of Armed Robberies Spanning Liberty And Montgomery Counties

LIBERTY COUNTY, Texas – A joint investigation by the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office has led to the arrest of two men authorities believe are responsible for roughly eight armed robberies across multiple jurisdictions.

According to Liberty County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson David Meyers, the suspects are accused of robbing two women at knifepoint in the Colony Ridge community south of Plum Grove.

Deputies were first dispatched Tuesday, Jan. 20, to a robbery near El Faro Supermarket in the 1400 block of County Road 3549. A second robbery was reported shortly afterward outside a Dollar General store in the Colony Ridge area. In both incidents, victims reported being approached by two young Hispanic males driving a white SUV-type vehicle, authorities said. After each robbery, the suspects fled in an unknown direction.

Investigators soon learned that Montgomery County deputies were working similar aggravated robbery cases involving suspects and a vehicle matching the same description. Authorities believe the two men are connected to approximately eight armed robberies across Liberty County, Montgomery County, and the City of Humble.

On Wednesday afternoon, Jan. 21, dispatchers from both sheriff’s offices were communicating about robberies in the U.S. 59–Grand Parkway area when it was determined the suspect vehicle was also in that vicinity. Liberty County narcotics units and investigators responded to the area in an attempt to locate the vehicle. During that effort, authorities were notified of another armed robbery that had just occurred in Humble.

Investigators later identified the suspect vehicle’s license plate, which was registered to a resident in the Colony Ridge area. Deputies located the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop. Only the driver was inside at the time.

The driver, Fernando Zuniga, 19, of Colony Ridge, was taken into custody and booked into the Liberty County Jail. Investigators later identified the second suspect as Jorge Rojas, 18, of the Cleveland area. Rojas was taken into custody the following day.

A search warrant for the vehicle was executed Friday morning, Jan. 23. Investigators said evidence recovered from the vehicle linked both suspects to robberies in Liberty County, Montgomery County, and Humble.

“It was a team effort between Liberty and Montgomery counties to capture these two individuals,” said Meyers. “It was awesome work, in my opinion, by both dispatchers, too.”