Police, FBI apprehend suspect in string of armed robberies

By Ricardo Torres-Cortez

Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016 | 12:16 p.m.

A suspect in a series of armed robberies was arrested Wednesday night after yet another robbery and a home invasion in the east valley, according to Metro Police.

Prior to Wednesday, Wyatt “Twenty Little” Peterson, 33, was suspected in at least 18 robberies starting Nov. 1 that police described as getting increasingly violent, authorities said. The FBI offered up to $10,000 for information leading to his arrest.

Officers responded about 8:40 p.m. Wednesday to reports of a robbery at a business in the 300 block of Nellis Boulevard, near Stewart Avenue, police said.

Investigators determined Peterson was the suspect and tracked him to a house about a mile and a half away, police said. When Metro officers and FBI agents arrived, Peterson broke into a nearby house and was arrested as he tried to flee, police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear where Peterson, whom police said may have been driven to commit the robberies because of a heroin addiction, was booked or under what counts.

The police and the FBI initially caught up with Peterson on Friday, but he was able to elude them, authorities said.

In a briefing Tuesday, Metro Capt. Dave O’Leary implored for Peterson to turn himself in.

“The situation is not hopeless for you,” O’Leary said. “We’re trying to help you. We want to bring a peaceful resolution to this. We want to get you help that you need.”