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Tuesday, March 14, 2006 10:45 PM CST
Armed robbery suspects caught
By HERB MEEKER, Staff Writer
Arrests made in connection with Arcola shooting
MATTOON -- Five armed robbery suspects were captured in a motel room Tuesday just 13 hours after a gas station clerk was shot during a hold-up in Arcola.
“We have taken several suspects into custody in relation to the armed robbery last night in Arcola,” said Illinois State Police Master Sgt. Russell Perkins of Zone 5 Investigations.
Tuesday morning, several area officers armed with pistols and rifles raided a second-story room on the north wing of the Budget Inn Motel on south U.S. 45. The suspects were taken into custody at the site.
“They all gave themselves up without incident,” Russell said.
Officers arrested three adults and two juveniles in one room at the Budget Inn at 10:47 a.m. after a tip led investigators to that motel, located a short distance from the Interstate 57/U.S. 45 interchange on Mattoon’s south side.
The previous night, a male gas station clerk was shot after a 9:17 p.m. robbery at the Arcola Sunrise Gas Station. An undetermined amount of cash was reportedly taken from the station.
With the investigation continuing, law officers declined to release the victim’s name or those of the suspects. The people arrested range in age from 16 to 21, and all are from this area, police said.
“The clerk was taken to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center and he was being treated at SBLHC for non-life threatening injuries,” said Arcola Police Chief Michael Phillips, who assisted with the arrests.
Officers from Arcola and Mattoon police departments, including a Mattoon K-9 unit, plus Illinois State Police and the East Central Illinois Drug Task Force personnel were involved in the multiple arrests. It took less than a minute for officers to secure the scene.
Illinois State Police Crime Scene Services was processing the motel room for evidence Tuesday. The Coles County Crisis Response Team was activated in case its expertise was needed on the arrests.
The suspects were taken to Mattoon Police Department for questioning. Other subjects were called to the police station as the joint investigation continued with the aid of search warrants and other efforts.
The suspects will face criminal charges in Douglas County, police said.
Contact Herb Meeker at hmeeker@jg-tc.com or 238-6869.
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Stephen wrote on Jul 17, 2006 8:22 AM: