Gallup man is arrested
in Carl’s Jr. robbery

By Leslie Wood
Staff writer

GALLUP — Police arrested a 20-year-old Gallup man Friday for his role in the armed robbery at the Carl’s Jr. Restaurant on March 23.

CrimeStoppers tips and witness accounts led authorities to arrest Evans Kesner on a second-degree felony count of armed robbery for his alleged involvement in the robbery.

Authorities said they received several useful CrimeStoppers tips about the robbery after video surveillance footage from Carl’s Jr. was published in a March 27 issue of the Independent.

Lt. Rick White, a spokesman for the Gallup Police Department, said officials initially arrested Kesner for a probation violation on Thursday and charged him with the armed robbery Friday.

He remains in custody at the McKinley County Adult Detention Center on a $50,000 cash only bond, pursuant to a warrant signed by District Judge Robert Aragon.

White said officers searched Kesner’s vehicle and found two handguns and the clothing that was worn during the robbery. The stolen cash was not recovered.

Authorities are working on a second warrant to arrest Kesner’s “partner in crime” for his alleged involvement in the robbery plot. His name was not immediately released.

“We are working on the warrant as we speak,” White said.
The pair reportedly robbed the restaurant at gunpoint on March 23 at about 9:30 p.m. and fled the business with an undisclosed amount of cash.