Subscribe
Community
Hardships lead man to armed robbery
Friday, Feb. 13, 2009
|
| ||
|
E-Mail This Article
A man down on his luck and claiming to have lost his wife, job, farm and driver's license allegedly turned to crime and is now being charged with armed robbery and first-degree assault.
Lewis Charles Johns, 45, of North Beach allegedly pulled out a knife while robbing the Sunderland Wine and Spirits store of $330 on Dec. 2, 2008, according to charging documents. Johns was indicted in the Calvert County Circuit Court on Jan. 26 with armed robbery, first- and second-degree assault and theft. The charges stem from evidence collected after Calvert County Sheriff's Office deputies searched his vehicle during traffic stop the following night in Chesapeake Beach, court records state.
When responding to the armed robbery report on Dec. 2, an employee gave the description of the man who robbed the store and told police that the suspect fled in a "dark-colored sedan that is possibly believed to be a Pontiac Bonneville."
The employee said the robber dragged him to the register while holding an 8- to 9-inch knife to his chest and said, "If you don't give me your money I will kill you," charging documents state.
The same two deputies, Michael Naecker and Andre Mitchell, who responded to the liquor store robbery, were on patrol in Chesapeake Beach on Dec. 3 and saw a dark-colored Pontiac Bonneville with "two equipment violations," the charging documents state. The driver of the vehicle, Johns, did not have a valid driver's license and had expired Virginia tags. Johns performed poorly on a field sobriety test so he was arrested for DUI, according to court records. During a search of the vehicle, deputies saw a folding knife in the center console and found suspected drugs, according to the charging documents.
During an interview with police later that night, Johns said he was at the liquor store and became upset with the clerk, and said the clerk became threatened and opened the cash register, but he did not intend to rob the store, the report stated. Johns said he was "down on his luck having lost his job, wife, farm and license," and he took the money from the register due to his hardships, according to police reports. Johns said "the knife observed in the vehicle was the same one he used in commission of the robbery of the Sunderland Wine and Spirits," according to the charging documents.
Along with charges in the circuit court, Johns was charged with five traffic violations, including driving under the influence, court records state.
