An alert citizen whose suspicions about seeing a woman jump out of a car and change her clothing behind Cost Less Foods and called 9-1-1 helped police arrest her for committing a robbery with a man.

At 9:49 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1 Cost Less Foods reported a robbery in which a Amy Augustine, 41, and Jamel Page, 43, both of Ceres, left the store with booze and grocery items concealed in her purse. When an employee confronted them, Page pushed the employee to the ground so the two could flee to their vehicle and leave the scene.

As officers were responding to the store, a citizen from nearby Belmont Avenue reported seeing a man and woman park while she got out and appeared to be changing her clothing. Since the vehicle description matched the vehicle used in the robbery, police checked it out. Before officers arrived, both Augustine and Page had distanced themselves from the vehicle. 

Officer Eric Souza located Augustine walking through a nearby apartment complex and was detained. An employee from Cost Less was brought to the scene and positively identified her as the female suspect. 

While conducting the investigation, Page walked up to officers who detained Augustine. He was also positively identified by store employees for his role in the robbery.

Both Augustine and Page were booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center on charges of robbery and conspiracy. The stolen merchandise was found in the vehicle and returned to the store.