Shell Gas Station Robbed
***UPDATE SUNDAY 3:22 P.M.***Police say the suspect in the two armed robberies is 41-year-old Carlos Monteg Epps.*** UPDATE SUNDAY 3:10 P.M. ***Police arrested the man they say is responsible for at least two armed robberies at gas stations in Columbia over the weekend.The Shell Petro Mart on I-70 was robbed around 8:00 P.M. Friday night. The man went into the store threatened he had a gun and demanded money. On Saturday night just before 10:30 P.M. the Break Time gas station was robbed. The suspect threatened he had a gun, and the clerk told police he or she also saw what looked like a hand gun.Police worked over night following leads and then found a location for the suspect on Sunday Morning. At around 11:20 A.M. police went to Rangeline and Vandiver in Columbia to arrest the suspect. The man ran from police, but law enforcement officers were able to take him into custody quickly.Police initially arrested the man on two warrants including violating his parole. He is now under arrest for two armed robberies and police are investigating his involvement in other similar crimes here in Columbia. ***UPDATE Saturday 6:04 P.M.***Police said an arrest has not been made in Friday night’s robbery as of this writing, but they are hoping that by releasing the surveillance photo of the suspect, they will receive tips that could identify the man and lead to an arrest. The same Shell petro mart was robbed three months ago, and ABC 17 News covered the arrest that came within days after police released photos of the suspect. On September 2, 2012– A man threatened to use a butcher’s knife on a clerk if she did not give up money from the cash register and her purse, according to police reports.That suspect in the Labor Day weekend robbery, Mark Swickard, has been charged for robbery and armed criminal action and is scheduled to be in court December 27. ***ORIGINAL STORY***The Shell gas station on I-70 in Columbia was robbed Friday night around 8 p.m.According to Columbia police, a man entered the store and demanded money. He implied he had a weapon but no weapon was seen.Once the clerk gave him an undisclosed amount of cash, the man fled the scene on foot. Police tried to track him using a K-9 unit, but it was unsuccessful.The suspect is described as black male in his 30s, between 5’8″ and 5’10” tall, 200 lbs, with short curly black hair and brown eyes. he was last seen wearing a striped shirt, blue jeans, boots and a scarf around his neck.
