CRIME: TWO MEN ARRESTED FOLLOWING ROBBERY

MALDEN, Mo. -- The arrest of two men in Jefferson County on Wednesday should allow deputies to solve several burglaries in three Southeast Missouri counties, the Dunklin County sheriff said.

Officers began searching for the suspects after an armed robbery was reported at a bar in Malden at 1:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Sheriff Bob Holder said. An employee was robbed as a gun was put to his head while money was taken from the cash register. The employee was then bound with duct tape as the robbers stole money from vending machines.

A deputy found an abandoned vehicle a mile from the bar. The vehicle had been in an accident, and numerous items taken in the robbery were inside. Also found in the vehicle was a weapon that had been reported stolen in a previous burglary.

An investigation showed the vehicle was licensed to a person in Jefferson County. Further investigation determined the vehicle had been lent to a person in Parma, Mo.

Dunklin and New Madrid county deputies, along with the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local police went to the residence in Parma at 5:30 a.m., where two men were found with items and money that had been taken during the robbery.

The two men are in custody in the Dunklin County jail awaiting charges.