
Deming Police Chief Brandon Gigante said 21-year-old Fernando Madrid was arrested after officers were dispatched to the Chevron gas station off Railroad Avenue at about 3:40 a.m. Monday.
Gigante said dispatch received an open 911 call from the location, meaning the call was made but no one spoke on the line.
Officers arrived and found Madrid behind the counter, refusing to show his hands.
He eventually tossed the knife he had used to coerce the clerk to hand over cash from the register.
The clerk told officers Madrid had been in earlier and was suspected of stealing food, then returned, took a handkerchief from a display rack, went into the bathroom and emerged a few minutes later wearing the handkerchief around his face, brandishing a knife and demanding cash.