By By Marianne Todd/The Meridian Star
Dec. 28, 2001
A suspect in an Alabama armed robbery was taken into custody by a Lauderdale County sheriff's deputy Thursday, the second suspect nabbed by local officers in as many days.
Maj. Ward Calhoun said the suspect, Lisa Martin, 31, of Neshoba County, was spotted on Lauderdale Toomsuba Road by Deputy James Bristow soon after Cuba, Ala., authorities notified locals she might be in the area.
Martin was being held in connection with an armed robbery of Young's BP station, said Cuba Police Chief Chris Vaughan. "She waived extradition and was returned this afternoon," he said.
Vaughan said Martin was charged under Alabama statutes with Robbery 1, the equivalent of armed robbery in Mississippi, and held on a $15,000 bond.
In an unrelated incident, Marion police were instrumental Wednesday in locating a man wanted for questioning in connection with a Wednesday explosion in Neshoba County.
Calhoun said Lauderdale County deputies were told by Neshoba investigators that witnesses saw a car with a Lauderdale County tag leave the scene of an explosion. While deputies searched for the suspect, Marion police pulled the man over on a routine traffic stop and, when they called in the man's tag number, were alerted by deputies, Calhoun said.
Neshoba sheriff's investigator Ralph Sciple questioned a Meridian man about the explosion. Sciple said some type of device detonated at a home near a church in the northeastern part of Neshoba County. He said he was unsure of the type of device or a possible motive in the explosion.
No one was injured in the explosion, and there was no property damage, he said.
Meanwhile, a Wednesday armed robbery in Meridian has left police searching for yet another gunman.
Lt. Lee Currie said a black man brandishing a gun entered a Super Stop convenience store at 2330 Highway 39 North about 7:55 p.m. and demanded money. He fled north in a white Cadillac. Police said the suspect was wearing a charcoal colored skull cap.
Anyone with information may call CrimeStoppers at 485-1860.
Marianne Todd is a staff writer for The Meridian Star. Call her at 693-1551, ext. 3236, or e-mail her at mtodd@themeridianstar.com.