LINCOLN, Neb.- March 14, 2024 – Lincoln Police are hopeful that two robberies have been solved after arresting a man on multiple warrants. On Wednesday, officers took 23-year-old Rolando Camareno into custody on five county warrants, two of which regard felony theft and burglary. Camareno was also a suspect in two robberies between 2023 and 2024.
One of the robberies included a jewelry store at a mall. which was robbed on Oct. 6, 2023. Video surveillance shows a man in a grey sweatshirt smashing a glass case with a hammer before pushing an employee to the ground. The suspect then broke a different glass case open and made off with $10,000 worth of jewelry.
Police later developed Camareno as a suspect in the robbery, and he was questioned about it after being arrested. He claimed to have been robbed of $10,000 in the days leading up to the robbery and was looking for quick way to get money, according to his arrest affidavit.
Officers think Camareno was inspired to rob the shop after listening to a rap song “where the individual used a hammer to break glass and collect jewelry.” Camareno was also questioned about a robbery on Feb. 17 after a 19-year-old claimed someone stole his backpack. The teen said he was walking home from school when a car without plates pulled up to him in a parking lot. A man got out of the car and demanded his belongings before flashing a handgun in his waistband, police wrote. The victim claimed the suspect told him, “if you’re gonna run, I’m gonna shoot you.” He handed over his backpack, and the suspect drove off with multiple cards and a Lincoln Public Schools Chromebook, court records show.
Police also thought Camareno to be a suspect in this theft and asked him about the incident. He claimed that the backpack had been stolen from a friend and that he was getting it back, police wrote. He also denied having a firearm. Camareno is currently being lodged on the robbery charges alongside his warrants. He was arraigned on two robbery charges on Thursday, and his bond was set at 10% of $100,000. His next court date is scheduled for April 18.
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