Colorado Springs clerk recognizes customer as sex assault suspect

Colorado Springs police are crediting a convenience store clerk for helping identify a suspect accused of sexually assaulting a woman at the store on Friday.

Police went to the store on E. Fountain Blvd. after getting the report of the sexual assault, but the suspect and the victim had both left the scene. The victim later reported the assault.

Officers found evidence of the assault at the store, but a break came when one of the store employees said the suspect was a regular customer and would surely return.

Saturday night, the suspect went back to the store, and the clerk called police. Officers arrived immediately and arrested Francisco Santa Maria-Lopez. A mugshot hasn’t been released, pending further developments in the investigation.

Santa Maria-Lopez faces charges of second-degree assault and attempted sexual assault.