Police: Man Who Posed As Robbery Victim Actually The Suspect
DENVER (CBS4)- Police in Denver believe they've solved a robbery after detectives determined that the man who claimed to be a victim was actually the criminal.
Police say Lorenzo Cordova called for help on Feb. 12 and said he was the victim of an armed robbery at the Lincoln Market in Denver's Whittier neighborhood.
Now investigators believe Cordova, a store employee, was involved.
According to court documents, security video helped reveal that it was Cordova and his wife, Christina Castaneda, who were inside the store at the time of the robbery.
Police say Cordova and his wife set up the phony robbery.
The incident made headlines because several people complained that it took police too long to respond to the 911 calls. The director of Denver's 911 call center told CBS4 that T-mobile "looping calls" could have jammed the lines during some of the center's busiest periods, which apparently resulted in the delay.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger spoke with Cordova's mother who placed the blame on his wife, Castaneda.
"He has always been head strong and knows right from wrong and he fell in love with this girl. She knows what she did and she knows that it's wrong and you have to pay for your actions," she said.
The owner of Lincoln Market told police he had suspected the woman, but didn't think his own employee was involved.
CBS4's Rick Sallinger is a Peabody award winning reporter who has been with the station more than two decades doing hard news and investigative reporting. Follow him on Twitter @ricksallinger.
