UPDATE: Three Arrested Face Additional Charges After Robbery of Convenience Store

1:00pm update: Three men who robbed a Brownwood convenience store at gunpoint Thursday morning will face additional charges of Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity according to Brownwood Police.

Sergeant James Kidd stated that investigation determined that the crime had been planned for about a week and that 17-year-old Trevor Norman had entered the 7-11 on Coggin Avenue approximately 15 minutes before the crime occurred around 12:30pm.

The middle aged male store clerk who was robbed at gunpoint stated that the three came into the store together calmly and stated, “Don’t push any buttons, just give us money.”  They also demanded cigarettes and alcohol, then left with an undetermined amount of cash according to Kidd.

The first call regarding the robbery came across dispatch at 12:35am and according to BPD Chief Mike Corley, “luckily patrol units were in the area and could get to the store within about 30 seconds.”

Kidd confirmed that officers Danny Hutchins and Mitch Slaymaker were on patrol and responded to the scene.  They had received reports from the store of certain individuals who lived in the area giving the clerks difficulty in the previous weeks, so the search for suspects began in that area.  Two of the men, identified as 17-year-old Andrew Ferguson and 20-year-old Javonte Jones were located walking toward Austin Avenue and detained.  The third suspect was not able to be found until later.

Jones and Ferguson were detained for questioning and information was gathered that they usually “hung out” with 17-year-old Trevor Norman, so he became a suspect as well.  The two were released at that time until further investigation and evidence was gathered to initiate an arrest.

Officers went to Norman’s foster parent’s home on 1st Street and were denied access to the property according to police, and 21-year-old Dontae Deon Crawford was charged with Hindering Apprehension.   Norman had been reported by his foster parent as a runaway on Tuesday and had also not attended school.

The investigation continued and video surveillance was reviewed which showed Norman entering the store 15 minutes prior to the robbery, subsequently he was then located and arrested for the crime stated Kidd.  The video also showed the three men to have been wearing hoodies with some type of material (possibly t-shirts) pulled up over their chins and noses to cover their faces, police said.  The firearms used in the robbery were later determined to be air soft or CO2 guns.  Although they are not “real guns,” Kidd stated that they have every appearance of a real gun even down to the barrel which had no orange tip.  Each were armed with one weapon which resembled a revolver and two semi-automatic guns, which according to Kidd, caused the clerk who was also outnumbered to fear for his life.

Because the three had planned the robbery ahead of time, they are additionally each charged with Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity along with the previous charge of Aggravated Robbery and are being held in lieu of bonds totaling $100,000.

Both Kidd and Corley stated that the officers and criminal investigators worked diligently for approximately 4-5 hours investigating until they were able to initiate the arrests at approximately 5:00am Thursday morning.

“The officers did an outstanding job,” said Kidd.  “It would have been easy to give up and continue the investigation later, but the officers were persistent.”

“The officers took logical police steps and followed good instincts,” said Corley praising the officers for a job well done.

Original article: Brownwood Police have arrested three Brownwood men after the overnight robbery at a convenience store.

Brownwood Police responded to the report of a robbery at the 7-11 on Coggin Avenue around 12:35am Thursday morning, which resulted in the arrest of three young men.

Details of the robbery, investigation and arrest were not available early Thursday morning.

Three men identified 17-year-old Andrew Ferguson, 20-year-old Javonte Jones and 17-year-old Trevor Norman were all charged with Aggravated Robbery.  No bond had been set as of 8:30am Thursday morning.