Subject in custody for armed robbery

DailyAmerican Republic

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Poplar Bluff man was arrested Tuesday morning on a warrant charging him with robbing County Mart on Highway 53 at gunpoint last week.

This comes after Butler County Prosecuting Attorney Kevin Barbour charged William "Elvis" Coleman, 22, of the 600 block of North Eighth Street with the Class A felony of first-degree robbery.

Poplar Bluff police officers reportedly arrested Coleman at about 10:35 a.m. Tuesday in the 600 block of North Eighth Street. He was booked at the Butler County jail.

His bond is set at $100,000.

According to the complaint on file with the court, on Friday Coleman allegedly ìforcibly stole money owned by County Mart and in the course thereof, Elvis Coleman, displayed what appeared to be a deadly weapon ...î

The charge stems from an incident that occurred at about 9:30 p.m. Friday at County Mart.

Police Patrolman Jeff Shackelford was dispatched to the store where he contacted a 26-year-old store employee who gave him a description of a black male who had ìjust robbed her with a handgun and left the scene on foot,î his report said.

Shackelford said the woman told him she was working in the tobacco/office section and was counting money in the register drawer when a man approached the counter, asking how long she stayed open.

ìAccording to her, almost immediately after (the man) left the store, the suspect entered the store and approached her counter,î Shackelford said.

The man, later identified as Coleman, reportedly asked to speak with the clerk.

ìShe stated that she walked to the counter, at which time he put his hands, which were holding the towel he had, on the counter and proceeded to unfold the towel thus revealing a large black handgun,î Shackelford explained in this report.

After allegedly displaying the weapon again, Coleman reportedly threw a plastic bag at the woman and ìproceeded to tell (her) to put all the money in it,î Shackelford said.

Coleman then allegedly asked for cigarettes, which he was reportedly given.

At that point, Coleman allegedly fled the store with between $300 and $500.

During the investigation, Shackelford was notified of a witness who reportedly saw a black male running northbound past Caseyís Auto Sales at about the time of the alleged robbery.

ì(The manís) description of the subject matched identically to (the store clerkís),î Shackelford said.

The case was turned over to Sgt. Greg Brainard for further investigation.

On Saturday, Police Chief Danny Whiteley provided Brainard with information he had received indicating ìthat the person who committed this robbery is a black male named Elvis Townsend.î

Elvis Townsend is reportedly an alias that Coleman allegedly uses.

With a possible suspect identified, Brainard put together a photographic lineup of six black males. The store clerk, according to Brainardís report, picked Coleman from the lineup.

It was determined Coleman had been given an suspended imposition of sentence on a possession of a controlled substance charge on Feb. 4 and placed on five-yearsí supervised probation.

Since his probation officer had not been able to contact Coleman in the ìpast few weeks,î she requested a hold be placed on him if he was contacted, Brainard said.

According to Brainard, he, Whiteley and Police Patrolman Jessie Snow went to Colemanís residence where they contacted his girlfriend and asked if there were any guns in the house.

The officers were reportedly given permission to ìlook around,î Brainard said. ì... in the kitchen, I saw what appeared to be the top and the grip of a black handgun on top of the kitchen cabinet.î

Brainard said the weapon was a large black BB pistol that ìlooks like a semiauto(matic) pistol ...î

At about 8:50 p.m. the officers contacted Coleman who was brought to the police station for questioning. After being told of his rights, Coleman reportedly agreed to talk with the officers.

ì... Mr. Coleman insisted over and over that he had nothing to do with any robbery ...,î Brainard said. ìHe just continued to say he didnít have anything to do with any robbery even when confronted with the evidence and witness identification.î

Coleman was arrested at 10:15 p.m. Saturday on a Probation and Parole warrant for probation violation. He was subsequently booked at the Butler County jail where he was held without bond until Monday. At that time, he was released after posting a $10,000 bond.