Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office stops possible armed robbery in Pueblo West

PUEBLO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- A deputy with the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office (PCSO) had stopped at Loaf N Jug on 14 W. Spaulding for a break when an employee of the store notified him that a man and woman who had just entered the store and stole laundry detergent.

According to PCSO, the employee said the man returned to the store where he took out a gun from his pants but then quickly left the store.

PCSO says that another witness reported seeing the man put on a mask and he and the woman crossed the street, walking toward another business. The witness said they thought the two were going to rob the business.

The deputy went outside to look for the suspects and saw a man and woman matching the description of the two standing across the street. As the deputy approached, the PCSO reports that the suspects took off going in opposite directions.

According to the PCSO, the deputy quickly apprehended the woman. The man, later identified as Matthew J. Arnette by the PCSO, ran back across the street toward the Loaf ‘N Jug and into a residential area.

Another deputy was in the area and located Arnette and took him into custody without incident says the PCSO.

PCSO says that they found a gun matching the description of the one Arnette had on him earlier, which was found in a trash can outside the Loaf ‘N Jug.

Arnette had a protection order restraining him from possessing weapons.

According to the PCSO, he was arrested for menacing with a deadly weapon, possession of a weapon by a previous offender, a protection order violation, and five outstanding warrants for contempt of court.

He was booked into the Pueblo County Jail. The woman was not arrested; however, according to the PCSO, charges could be forthcoming.