Man held up store twice, lawmen say

Pulaski County authorities on Tuesday arrested a Little Rock man who, sheriff’s deputies said, attempted to rob the same convenience store of cash and cigarettes for the second time in a week.

Deputies said Robert Gates, 19, of 6012 Forest View Road was the man who entered the Valero gas station at 14401 Arch St. shortly after 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, pointed a gun at the store clerk and demanded money and cigarettes.

The robber, who wore a light gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled tightly around his face, fled from the store with an unknown amount of cash, 24 packs of Newport cigarettes and 21 packs of Marlboro Light cigarettes, according to deputies’ reports.

Shortly afterward, a Pulaski County sheriff’s sergeant spotted a red Chevrolet Camaro headed north on Arch Street. The vehicle matched the description of the one used in Friday’s robbery, and the sergeant stopped the car. Inside the car he spotted a sweater similar to one the gas station clerk described and a backpack, according to the arrest report. The car also had gunshot damage in the front windshield.

Gates said he had robbed the same convenience store Friday, the arrest report states. In that robbery, about $200 and up to 15 packs of Newport cigarettes were taken, deputies’ reports state.

Gates was charged with two counts of aggravated robbery, two counts of theft of property, two counts of carrying a weapon and one count of possession of a consity’s trolled substance.

He was taken to the Pulaski County jail, where he was being held Tuesday night without bail.