Three men face felony charges after being arrested by Fayetteville police Sunday morning (March 24).
Larry Ferguson and Frederick Thomas, both of Fort Smith, and Zachary Rigali, of Fayetteville, were booked in the Washington County Detention Center on Sunday and have bonds of $50,000, according to the Sheriff’s Department website. An unnamed juvenile was also arrested and taken to the Juvenile Detention Center.
The website said Ferguson and Rigali face felony charges of aggravated robbery, engaging in violent criminal group activity and breaking and entering a vehicle. The website said Thomas faces a felony charge of aggravated robbery.
A preliminary police report said Fayetteville police responded to an armed robbery call at approximately 1:21 a.m. Sunday morning at the 200 block of Watson Street. Two people told officers they had been robbed at gunpoint by three men, who then fled, the report said.
The victims told police one of the suspects was wearing red and had a small black handgun, and one victim said he lost his wallet and part of a tooth when one of the suspects punched him, the report said.
Officers were unable to locate the suspects, but the report said at approximately 1:55 a.m. officers responded to a caller who said two men were attempting to break into cars at the Links Apartments at 3785 Shoal Creek. The report said officers found Ferguson, 18, and a 17-year-old juvenile in the complex, the report said.
Ferguson told officers he and the juvenile were there to attend a party, and officers noticed two other men sitting in a black Nissan Altima in the parking lot, the report said. When officers spoke to those two, neither could explain why they were there, though Ferguson had told officers the pair had come with him and the juvenile to attend the party, the report said.
Police arrested the four men for loitering and, during a search of the juvenile, discovered the wallet taken from the victim of the earlier armed robbery, the report said. Officers also found other property in the car and a BB handgun, the report said.
The report said, while being interviewed, Thomas and Ferguson told officers they had robbed the victims on Watson Street with the juvenile. The men had planned on breaking into cars when they came across the two victims and, after asking for change for $20, the juvenile pulled the handgun and demanded money, the report said.
Ferguson and Thomas said they punched the victim during the robbery, the report said. They told officers the three fled to the Rigali’s car and drove to the apartment complex to break into cars, the report said.
Rigali told officers he knew the three were breaking into cars and the three men and the juvenile had discussed getting money from people, the report said.
