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Police arrest man accused of stealing booze at knifepoint
Eli Chavez
Eli Chavez

A 37-year-old Ceres man was arrested early yesterday morning after he allegedly stole a bottle of booze from Valley Mart at knifepoint.

Eli Chavez was arrested and booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center for armed robbery, possession of a suspected illegal substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The clerk at the store in the 1400 block of Mitchell Road called police  at 4:40 a.m. shortly after he saw Chavez enter the store, grab a bottle of alcohol from the shelf and produce a knife to threaten the clerk as he walked out the door. A description of the suspect was given to the officers and Officer Nicholas Welsh found Chavez drinking on the west side of the store. Officers detained Chavez who was positively identified as the suspect.

Police found Chavez in possession of suspected methamphetamine along with drug paraphernalia.