ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, July 19, 1996 TAG: 9607190064
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JON CAWLEY STAFF WRITER
A couple was robbed at gunpoint while parked at an overlook on the Blue Ridge Parkway early Wednesday.
Richard Derrick Watkins, 18, of Goodview was arrested about an hour and a half after the couple was robbed at the Chestnut Ridge Overlook about 1 a.m.
The U.S. Park Service said four people were involved. One loaded a weapon and pointed it at the couple. The robbers demanded money and jewelry, Ranger John Boone said.
After the robbers fled, the couple followed in their car until they were able to record the vehicle's license tag, Boone said.
The couple notified Roanoke police, and about 2:30 a.m. Roanoke County police spotted a car with the same tag, reading "1 SUAVE," at the 7-Eleven on Hardy Road, Boone said. Officers detained Watkins, the owner and driver of the car, until the couple arrived at the scene.
The man and woman identified Watkins as one of the assailants, and the woman said Watkins reached into the vehicle and took her purse containing $40 and credit cards, Boone said.
Watkins was taken to the Roanoke City Jail, where he was interviewed, Boone said.
Watkins was arraigned in federal court Wednesday and bond was set at $15,000. He had been released from custody Thursday, Roanoke Deputy D. Likens said.
Information on the other three suspects was not available Thursday.
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