Vegas felon with violent record arrested in Elko robbery

ELKO, Nev. (AP) — A felon who severed several years in prison for a 2010 shooting at a Las Vegas park has been arrested in Montana as a suspect in an attack this summer on a California couple who was beaten and robbed of $25,000 in jewelry at a convenience store in Elko.

Steven R. Mondragon, 29, Las Vegas, is accused of battery with use of a deadly weapon resulting in substantial bodily harm, robbery with deadly weapon, grand larceny and conspiracy, the Elko Daily Free Press reports.

Police said Mondragon was identified as one of three men who robbed a couple at the Maverik along I-80 on Aug. 13. The others were arrested earlier.

Mondragon was arrested in Cascade, Montana. He was booked Saturday into the Elko County Jail with bail set at $145,000. It’s not clear if he has a lawyer or will be appointed one.

Mondragon was arrested in 2010 for attempted murder in Las Vegas after he fired a gun into a crowd during a gang-related dispute, injuring three people.

He pleaded guilty to three lesser counts, including battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm and was sentenced to four to 10 years in prison, court records show. He was paroled in 2019.