Police arrest man on 2 counts of aggravated robbery for east Austin incident

A man was arrested Tuesday on charges connected to an east Austin aggravated robbery after two victims said he pointed a gun in their faces, demanding their wallets near the corner of 7th Street and Chicon Street.

AUSTIN (KXAN) – A man was arrested Tuesday on charges connected to an east Austin aggravated robbery after two victims said he pointed a gun in their faces, demanding their wallets near the corner of 7th Street and Chicon Street.

According to court records, James Anthony Escalante, 37, quickly rode up to the victims on a scooter shortly after midnight, yelling and waving a gun in his hand.

The victims told police Escalante then held the gun six inches from their faces, pointing it at both and saying, “You, wallet, now!” to each victim, and he went on to say, “I’m going to shoot you if you don’t give it now” to one of the victims.

According to records, the victims were able to run away while Escalante searched through their wallets. This was when the victims said they ran to a nearby business to report to robbery.

During a search of the scene, police found items on the ground that the suspect threw down while rummaging through the wallets. The items were collected as evidence because the victims said the suspect was not wearing gloves.

According to police, 10 minutes after the robbery, Escalante was located five to seven blocks away from the initial scene. He was shirtless when police identified him, but “other than that, he matched the victim’s description.”

During a field identification, police said the victims both positively identified Escalante as the person that robbed them.

Escalante was booked into the Travis County jail and held on a $60,000 bond—$30,000 for each aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon charge. As of Wednesday, he remained in jail.