Robbery

CRIME STOPPERS and the Springfield Police Department are asking for your help to arrest a suspect in a game store holdup.  Investigators say a white male wearing a black ski mask and blue backpack walked into Games N More on east Commercial street December 29th pointed a gun at the clerk and demanded money and video games. He got the cash and games and rode off on a blue bicycle. Police are asking anyone with information about the robbery or who may know the suspect to call CRIME STOPPERS at 869-TIPS (8477)

An attempted robbery suspect is on the run after a hold up at a convenience store around 6:00 am Wednesday morning. Springfield police say the crook did not get away with cash. Investigators tell KSPR News that a white male walked into the store and tried to buy something. When the cash register opened, he demanded money, but the clerk just called 911 and the man ran off. It all happened at the Kum and Go at the corner of Fort and Sunshine just as the morning rush hour was getting started.

A Greene County man will spend at least 21 years in prison for a December 2007 robbery of a Dollar General store. Friday a judge sentenced Jason Hutchinson, 35, as a prior and persistent felony offender. That means he must serve at least 85 percent of his 25-year sentence before being eligible for parole.

Springfield police are looking for two men who apparently robbed a man at his home Tuesday night. It happened on the 900 block of west Central just after 10:30. Investigators say the suspects were wearing ski masks, brandished a knife and demanded money They allegedly made off with the victims wallet.

Three people are in jail this morning after an overnight armed robbery. It happened in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart on North Kansas Expressway. Investigators tell KSPR that three men, including one with a gun, held up another group. The victims apparently knew their attackers and gave police a good description of their get-away car and where they lived. With that information, officers located the vehicle and suspects at a home on West Walnut Street.  They arrested the three men and recovered the gun used in the robbery.

FORSYTH, Mo. -- A man from Branson is charged with robbing a pharmacy in Branson at gunpoint on Wednesday evening.  City police arrested Mason Scott, 21, shortly after the robbery. Branson Police Sgt. Patrick Gray says the robbery was a little after 5:30 p.m.  A man with a gun walked into Lakeland Pharmacy on Branson Parkway and demanded drugs.  He ran into the woods behind the pharmacy.  Police say they recovered pills and a gun when they arrested Scott.  A judge set Scott's bond at $100,000 on Thursday.  If he's convicted, he could get a 10- to 30-year prison sentence for pharmacy robbery and a sentence of three or more years for armed criminal action.

Human remains found behind Clever High School today (8-23)are less than a mile from where a robbery suspect disappeared in April. A jogger first found  the body of a middle aged white man in a wooded area near the high school. Police estimate the man's remains were in the area for about three to five months.    Four months ago, on April 13, investigators were looking for the man who robbed the Family Pharmacy in Clever.   Investigators soon released the mugshot of a man with a lengthy criminal record.   They said Jeffrey A. Pinegar was a suspect in the robbery.     KSPR News spoke with his family tonight.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Springfield police continue to look for a man who fired several shots during an armed robbery over the weekend. The robbery took place at the Eagle Stop at North Grant Avenue and Norton Road overnight Saturday -- right across the street from the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. Police say the man showed a silver handgun and demanded cash before firing shots. No one was hurt.

The manager of the Dairy Queen on South Campbell, near the intersection of Republic Road was robbed around 10:00 Monday night.  The manager of the restaurant was outside, when a man grabbed her from behind and demanded money.  He was carrying a gun.  He got away with an unknown amount of cash. The store manager had a bump on the head, and refused medical care. Police say they are looking for a white, heavy set man. He's in his 30's or 40's and has a goatee. He was wearing dark clothing at the time of the robbery.

Springfield police say a good samaritan helped them arrest three people in what they're calling an attempted robbery on the city's west side. A passerby told police the trio was trying to break into a shed in the 2800 block of west Kearney. The citizen said he knew the landowner wasn't there so he called him to tip him off. The landowner showed up and held the three at gunpoint until police arrived to take them into custody.    The land owner told KSPR News the property used to belong to his grandmother, and now he owns it. So far, no charges have been filed.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Springfield Police want to find a teenager charged with several violent crimes, including assault, robbery, and burglary.  Investigators said Tevin Williams, 18, shot a man seven times.  Two days after he bonded out of jail, investigators said Williams pointed a gun during a robbery and pulled the trigger. Williams is charged with six felonies.  His family wants people to think about Williams differently. "He's a sweet, handsome, ladies man. He's funny.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Police say a customer at a convenience store in west Springfield foiled an armed robbery attempt there early this morning. According to Springfield police, two men approached the Kum 'N' Go at 2506 West College Street at 4:11 a.m., with one entering the store and the other standing outside by the door. The man who went inside displayed a firearm and told the clerk the store was being held up. A 26-year-old man inside the store who was a customer at the time disarmed the man, police said -- causing him and the person outside to both run. The person who was inside the store fired two shots at the men as they ran, according to police.

FORSYTH, Mo. -- A man from Branson is charged with robbing a pharmacy in Branson at gunpoint on Wednesday evening.  City police arrested Mason Scott, 21, shortly after the robbery. Branson Police Sgt. Patrick Gray says the robbery was a little after 5:30 p.m.  A man with a gun walked into Lakeland Pharmacy on Branson Parkway and demanded drugs.  He ran into the woods behind the pharmacy.  Police say they recovered pills and a gun when they arrested Scott.  A judge set Scott's bond at $100,000 on Thursday.  If he's convicted, he could get a 10- to 30-year prison sentence for pharmacy robbery and a sentence of three or more years for armed criminal action.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A convenience store clerk was assaulted during a robbery very early Friday morning in Springfield. Springfield police say two men are in custody after the robbery, which happened at roughly 12:30 Thursday morning at the Fast & Friendly in the 400 block of South Glenstone. Police say two men walked into the store, took some things, and started to walk out. When the store clerk tried to get a closer look at the men, a third man showed up, assaulted the clerk, and took a few more items.

REPUBLIC, Mo. -- The time for crime may have to do with the clocks. According to a forthcoming national study, the spring forward of daylight saving makes crime rates fall back. Researchers from University of Virginia and College of William and Mary looked at the three-week period before and after the spring daylight saving time change over the course of four years. They found encouraging results: rape rates went down 56 percent, robbery went down by 51 percent, and murder decreased 43 percent.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- The U.S. Marshals are searching for Jerry Lee Suntken, a man they say should be considered very dangerous, despite having a few problems carrying out his crimes. Despite a couple incidents being downright funny, nobody in the Marshals service is laughing. In July, 2009, Springfield police were called to a violent shoplifting at the Price Cutter on College Street. Employees had caught Suntken stuffing food and other items into his clothes. When they tried to stop  him from leaving, investigators say he became violent by wrestling, kicking and punching the employees.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- A man is charged for one of three recent robberies of pharmacies in the city.  Matthew Q. Robinson, 22, could also be charged for the other two robberies of Walgreens stores, as well as one in Nixa. Police say they arrested Robinson about 11 p.m. Wednesday.  He was charged with first-degree pharmacy robbery and armed criminal action on Thursday. The robberies were on Oct. 24, Nov. 12 and Dec. 11 last year at the Walgreens stores at 2951 S. Campbell Ave., and 2640 E. Sunshine St.  Springfield detectives are also working with the Nixa Police Department about a related robbery at the Walgreens store in Nixa last Jan. 15. Robinson is charged for the robbery in October.  Police will present probable cause statements to prosecutors about the additional cases.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - Springfield police continue to look for a man who fired several shots during an armed robbery over the weekend. The robbery took place at the Eagle Stop at North Grant Avenue and Norton Road overnight Saturday -- right across the street from the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds. Police say the man showed a silver handgun and demanded cash before firing shots. No one was hurt.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. -- Criminals commit robberies by violence and intimidation.  New numbers from the Springfield Police Department show the robbery cases shot up more than 23 percent from 2011 to 2012.  Police point to a reason for the rise in robberies: shoplifting. "Robberies, you saw those go up, but, if you also look at our thefts, they have gone up as well.  In particular, shopliftings.  We saw a dramatic increase in shopliftings," said Springfield Police Major Kirk Manlove.  "The robberies really parallel the increase in shoplifting, so that's one explanation that we saw and we haven't seen that before.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - A pair of convenience stores were robbed on Monday night within an hour of each other.  One happened in 2012, one in 2013, and police think the same man may have robbed both stores. The first robbery was at the Kum & Go store on South Grant Avenue at Mount Vernon Street.  Police say a masked man, likely in his 20s, walked into the store about 10 minutes before midnight.  He threatened the clerk with a long gun and got away with money. Then, just before 1 a.m., another Kum & Go store was robbed.  This store is on North National Avenue at Norton Road.  Police say it was a masked man, wearing a hoodie and holding a gun.