VAN BUREN (KFSM) – Four suspects were arrested after running out of gas while fleeing from a robbery in Van Buren on Sunday (June 7), police say.
On Sunday around 5 p.m., the Van Buren Police Department responded to a call of aggravated robbery at an apartment complex in the 700 block of Bella Vista Street. The victim, a 21-year-old man, said two men with a handgun forced their way into his apartment and robbed him.
The victim also told police he was with 15-year-old girls when the robbery took place. Both the girls left the apartment at the same time the two men with the gun did, police said. The victim said he didn’t know where the girls went, but he was able to provide a description of one, leading police to identify her as a Van Buren resident.
According to a news release, police later found the two suspects walking across the street from the Van Buren Police Station. They were identified as Hakeem Jackson, 19, and Jonathan Rogers, 18, both of Russellville, police said.
Both of the suspects told officers they were passing through Van Buren and had run out of gas, the release states. Authorities said the victim met police and positively identified the suspects.
The suspects’ vehicle was found near Vista Plaza Laundry at 803 Fayetteville Rd., along with the two girls. Police suspected the girls were involved in the robbery, the release states.
Authorities said all four suspects were taken into custody and face charges of aggravated robbery and theft. The two girls were not identified because they are minors. The two men were booked into the Crawford County Detention Center, and the two girls were taken to a juvenile detention center.
Police said they believe that while fleeing the suspects ran out of fuel.
A loaded handgun and property belonging to the victim were recovered by police, the release states.
