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Alleged robber in court Tuesday |
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Monday, 05 October 2009 |
A Pine Bluff man accused of robbing two Saline County businesses with a handgun and forcing seven victims to disrobe during the incidents several months ago will appear in Benton District Court on Tuesday.
Jonquil King, 24, faces charges of criminal attempt to commit murder, aggravated robbery, two counts of first-degree battery and theft of property.
King allegedly was involved in the armed robberies of the Lucky 7 arcade and The Getaway arcade, both off U.S. 167 in Hensley, in July and August. He is scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. before Judge Mike Robinson.
On July 25, employees of the Getaway arcade said two black males and two black females came into the business, played $5 worth of games, filled out cards with their names and phone numbers, and then left the business.
According to police reports, at 1:30 a.m. the two men returned to the business and kicked in the front door with pistols in their hands. A sheriff’s report said the employees were tied up with zipties and kicked in the ribs. One of the victims reportedly had her hair pulled, her head picked up off the ground and slammed back into the concrete.
The victims said one of the men was noticeably taller and called the other man by the name “Keyko” or “Kayko.”
Officers were called to the scene at 1:38 a.m., arrived at 1:53 a.m. and found one of the victims bleeding from the head, who was later transported via ambulance to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. The victims told officers the two men stole their purses, car keys and cell phones, and the box holding the customer cards with their names and phone numbers, before fleeing south on U.S. 167.
Officers found a suspicious vehicle matching the victims’ description a quarter of a mile from the business, but they did not find the suspects.
On Aug. 2, just before 1 a.m. officers were called to the scene of an armed robbery at the Lucky 7 arcade, just a few miles from The Getaway arcade on the same road. Officers were informed upon arrival that the victims were taken to the Jefferson County Memorial Hospital, but they had phoned dispatch that they were physically assaulted at gunpoint.
Officers also found several black zipties on the floor, along with blood in the kitchen area and near the back door, the report said.
Courtney said none of the victims were sexually assaulted.
“They stripped them to slow them down,” he said, “before they got a chance to call police.”
Detectives from the sheriff’s office were able to gather enough evidence to issue a probable cause warrant, and King was taken into custody by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office near his home in Pine Bluff. King was then brought to the Saline County Sheriff’s Office, where he was interviewed and charged.
Two other suspects, Wishhorne Turner, 22, and Kendra Doru (age unknown) both of Jefferson county were later arrested for connection to the Saline County robberies. Turner and Doru each face charges of aggravated robbery, two counts of first-degree battery and theft of property.
Courtney said King is also suspected of a similar crime in North Little Rock, but he is not believes to be connected to two armed robberies in Bryant were three female victims also were forced to disrobe by the robber.
The suspect in those two robberies is described as a black man between 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall, weighing around 150 pounds, of medium build and in his early to mid-20s. Police believe the same individual robbed both the Euphoria Salon and Spa in Bryant and Dollar General store on Arkansas 5.
An anonymous person donated a $1,000 reward to the Bryant Police Department for information leading to the arrest of this suspect. No suspects have been arrested as of press time for the robberies in Bryant.
Anyone with any information pertinent to the Bryant investigation is asked to call the Bryant Police Department at 847-0211. Anyone with information about the arcade robberies is asked to call the Saline County Sheriff’s Office at 303-5609.
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