To close for comfort

GRAND JUNCTION — The man who robbed a Grand Junction bank in October 2007 is now in custody, after diligent police work tied him to several area robberies.

46-year-old James Jones is currently being held in an Orem, UT jail after he was arrested on a Grand Junction warrant Thursday night. He is currently facing aggravated robbery charges for robbing the 1st National Bank of the Rockies on Horizon Drive on October 4, 2007, Johnny’s Liquors on Patterson Rd. on November 6, 2007, the North Ave. Wal-Mart on January 8, 2008, and Blockbuster Video on January 15, 2008.

Here’s how Grand Junction Police detectives pieced together the information:Earlier this year we received a tip from a person who saw the surveillance video we released to the media from the Johnny’s Liquor robbery. That person recognized the robber as James Jones, the same person involved in the violent shoplifting incident at Wal-Mart. GJPD Investigators then provided a photo lineup to the Blockbuster employees, who also positively identified James Jones as the robber.

An arrest warrant was issued, and Jones was arrested in the Salt Lake, UT area. He was later released on bond, while he awaited trial.As the investigation progressed, detectives obtained a court order to take a DNA sample from Jones. That sample, along with evidence collected after the bank robbery, was submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation for testing. Last week we received those test results that showed the DNA profile from the bank matched James Jones. Jones was arrested in Orem, UT on Thursday.

This guy often came into the other store where I worked. He seemed friendly. One time he came in injured. I asked him what happened, he said he was "injured at work". Glad he decided not to rob the store I worked at, that is a little to close for comfort. Most criminals you can pick out. They look and act like criminals, because all they ever do is commit petty things that show their ignorance. It seems the more volatile and higher stake the crime, the harder they work to hide in plain sight.