Suspect arrested in Valentine’s street vendor robbery in Fresno. Police found him near scene
Fresno police arrested a man Wednesday they say was responsible for a strong-arm robbery of street vendors on Valentine’s Day.
Officers attributed the arrest of 21-year-old Martin Chavez to help from the community following outrage by people who saw video of the crime that went viral online.
Police got several tips that led them to a home on the 3300 block of East Nevada Avenue, near First Street and Belmont Avenue to serve a warrant at the house and located Chavez.
The suspect was taken into custody after a short foot chase, Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said in an update Wednesday afternoon.
“In the last couple years we’ve had several of our street vendors assaulted; the last couple years our street vendors were murdered for doing nothing more trying to feed their families and if that does not make you mad about something like that happening in your community, you’re just not human,” Balderrama said.
“It makes me upset, and we made a commitment to protect our street vendors. This crime happened and we quickly took action and we have the suspect behind bars.”
Video on TikTok and Instagram began to make the rounds showing the man grabbing Valentine’s gifts from vendors and striking them at Tulare Avenue and First Street on Monday, police confirmed.
The victims shared the video online as well as Fresno police.
Nana Luz Beltran said she was with her family that day, selling gifts on the downtown corner like they’ve done for 30 years. She said the video only caught the tail end of what happened after the man had thrown multiple punches.
The man first walked up to the family-run canopy and asked about prices, she said, before returning a few minutes later.
Police said he exited a Honda Accord parked nearby and tried to take Valentine’s Day gifts from the pop-up seller. After the women tried to stop him, the man assaulted three women and a 77-year-old man, police said.
Beltran said the man hit her sister first. “This guy gets mad and starts punching her,” Beltran said Wednesday before news of the arrest. “My sister turns around and starts punching him back. He ended up punching me in the face.”
Police said Chavez was being held on suspicion of strong-armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats and a parole violation. Balderrama said Chavez confessed to the crime and was writing an apology letter.
Police said Chavez was on parole after he was convicted in 2021 for assault with a deadly weapon when he struck a victim with a metal religious cross.
This story was originally published February 16, 2022 at 1:51 PM.
