Winter has been unkind to much of North Carolina this year, dumping snow and leaving behind ice and cold. Media reports indicate that recent winter weather also made it easy for police to trace the tracks of two men west of Raleigh.
The pair now faces robbery and kidnapping charges, Charlotte law enforcement officials said.
Police said the two men, each 21 years old, are suspected in a pair of convenience store robberies.
According to police, the men robbed the first store just before 7 a.m. They walked into the store armed and then demanded money. They reportedly told clerks and customers to get down on the floor.
They are also accused of taking a customer’s car keys and driving off in the vehicle after the robbery.
They drove about five miles away to a second store, police believe, where they aimed a gun at a clerk, took cash and drove off in what was apparently the vehicle taken in the first robbery.
Police officers at the scene of that first robbery said they found footprints in the snow that led to the store. Investigators then traced the path of prints back to a nearby residence.
That’s where police said they found the two men who were placed under arrest after being interviewed by officers.
Items taken from the stores were reportedly found in the possession of the men.
The suspects were each charged with multiple counts of kidnapping and robbery with a dangerous weapon, as well as conspiracy to commit robbery and larceny of a motor vehicle.
Any time anyone faces such serious charges, they should contact a criminal defense firm with a record of protecting client rights and freedoms.
Source: Charlotte Observer, “Tracks in snow lead police to arrest 2 in Charlotte robberies,” Steve Lytlle, Jan. 30, 2014