FAYETTEVILLE -- Police arrested a couple they say was involved in a robbery in Springdale, followed by a fight with gunshots in Fayetteville.
Uriel Rodriguez-Vargas, 22, of 22110 E. U.S. 412 in Springdale and Ariana Cuevas-Bahena, 19, of 606 W. National St. in Fayetteville were arrested late Sunday in connection with aggravated robbery.
Rodriguez-Vargas also was arrested in connection with theft of property, residential burglary and criminal use of a prohibited weapon, all felonies, according to a preliminary arrest report and jail records. Cuevas-Bahena was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault, unlawful discharge of a firearm from a vehicle and carrying certain prohibited weapons.
A man tried to buy a gun from Cuevas-Bahena via a multimedia messaging app at 6:25 p.m. Sunday, according to Springdale police reports. Rodriguez-Vargas entered the man's home at 820 E. Huntsville Road and took $200 and the man's cellphone, police said. The man told police he was held at gunpoint and beaten by Rodriguez-Vargas, according to the report.
The three seemed to know each other, Springdale police spokesman Jeff Taylor said in email.
Fayetteville police were searching for the couple in connection with the robbery when a caller reported hearing gunshots at 10:45 p.m. Sunday at Buffalo Wild Wings at 3990 N. Steele Blvd., according to a Fayetteville Police Department preliminary report.
When police arrived, Cuevas-Bahena told them she and Rodriguez-Vargas found their white Jeep with all its tires flat, according to a report. Four men got out of a vehicle and started to beat Rodriguez-Vargas while Cuevas-Bahena was inside the Jeep, the report shows.
Fayetteville Police Department spokesman Sgt. Anthony Murphy said the men who beat Rodriguez-Vargas were connected to the person robbed in Springdale. One person involved was under the age of 18 years old, he said.
One of the men said Cuevas-Bahena should get out of the car so "she can get some of this, too," according to the preliminary report. Cuevas-Bahena took a 9 mm handgun from the console and held it out the window. She told police she shot twice at the ground to scare them, according to the report. Police found a gun in the car.
Cuevas-Bahena identified at least one of the men, according to the report.
Police also found a drill stolen from Corpus Christi, Texas, in the car.
Murphy said police are still investigating the case.
Cuevas-Bahena was at the Washington County Detention Center with no bond Monday. Rodriguez-Vargas was at the jail with a $585 bond related to a separate misdemeanor offense.
Both have court hearings Wednesday.
NW News on 04/17/2018
