Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, February 7, 1995 TAG: 9502070082
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DIANE STRUZZI STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Police charged Larry W. Burrell of Fincastle - who was convicted in Roanoke in 1990 and 1991 of distributing cocaine - with robbing three convenience stores Sunday and early Monday.
He was arrested shortly after the E-Z-N Food Mart at 2939 Edgewood St. S.W. was robbed at 12:40 a.m. Monday. There, the robber took less than $100 from the cash register, telling the clerk he had a gun. A weapon was not displayed. The man locked the clerk in the cooler and fled the scene.
Moments later, a patrol officer spotted a car near Shaffers Crossing that matched the description of a car seen at an earlier robbery. As the police car approached, the other car accelerated, hitting a utility pole in the 2800 block of Florida Avenue Northwest, police said.
Police identified the driver as Burrell. He jumped from the car but was tackled by police a few feet away. When he was arrested, Burrell told the officer, "I'm getting the money for crack," according to a police news release.
Police also charged Burrell with robbing the Uni-Mart at 3515 Franklin Road S.W. at around 6:20 p.m. Sunday. In that store, the robber held a clerk at gunpoint and demanded cash from the register, police said. He told the clerk to lie on the floor, then he fled.
Burrell also is accused of robbing Snappy Foodmarts at 617 Liberty Road N.E. 12 hours earlier, shortly after it opened. Police said the robber put the clerk in a choke hold, told her he had a gun and would shoot, then demanded the cash drawer be opened, took some cash and ran.
Police would not say if a gun was confiscated from Burrell's possession.
by CNB