Jarvis Hill, 29, was charged with the Wednesday afternoon aggravated robbery of Cash Now, said Gilmer Police Chief James Grunden. The suspect, who told officers he lived in Dallas, was captured after an approximately 20-mile chase which reached speeds of 100-110 miles per hour, and involved five law enforcement vehicles from the Camp County Sheriff's Office and Pittsburg Police Dept., authorities said.
Hill was arrested when his vehicle ran off Texas Hwy. 11 in Cason, in Morris County, and he fled on foot into the woods, where he was soon captured, said Gilmer police Lt. Ron Benge. The vehicle had stuck in mud, Benge said.
The approximately 15-20 minute chase—which involved Camp County Sheriff Alan McCandless and Pittsburg Police Chief Richard Penn among others—began on U.S. Hwy. 271 in Camp County south of Pittsburg and went through that city before turning right onto Hwy. 11, authorities said.
Officers in Camp County had been alerted about the robbery and given a description of a sport utility vehicle involved in it.
Hill was originally taken to Morris County Jail in Daingerfield since that county had a warrant for his arrest for parole violation, said Grunden. The suspect was transferred to Upshur County Jail here Thursday, and was being held Friday without bond on the parole violation charge and under $100,000 bond on the aggravated robbery charge, officers said.
Although Upshur County Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Lyle Potter set a bond on the robbery charge, Hill can't be released on bail due to the parole violation accusation, said the Upshur County Sheriff's Office.
Camp County Sheriff's Deputy Bo Tucker and Pittsburg Police Officer Benny Ramey captured Hill, said Camp County Chief Sheriff's Deputy Chris Bragg, who was also involved in the chase. The suspect is originally from Naples, said Grunden.
An officer recovered the $4,005 which the finance company reported stolen in the robbery, but the gun used hadn't been found as of Friday, authorities said. The suspect "chunked" the money "while he was running" on foot, Benge said.
The holdup occurred in the Ballpark Plaza on U.S. 271 about 12:10 p.m., said Grunden. The man entered the finance company with a towel draped over his right hand and pulled back the towel, revealing a blue steel automatic pistol, Gilmer police said.
The bandit escorted a female employee to the back, where he took money from a safe before they returned to the front, where more cash was taken from a drawer, said Benge. The man then told the woman to go in a bathroom and not come out, Benge said.
When she heard bells on the door of the firm, she spotted the man headed north on the highway in a gray Dodge Durango and "gave us a good description of the vehicle," said Benge. The woman wasn't injured.
Bragg, McCandless and Penn were about to check out for lunch in Pittsburg, about 20 miles north of Gilmer, when they learned of the robbery. Bragg said they spotted a silver sport utility vehicle which they thought might be the suspect's, and that Penn and Tucker went to check on it while he and Sheriff McCandless went on toward Gilmer to make sure it wasn't another vehicle instead.
Bragg said he and the sheriff then spotted the right vehicle northbound on 271 some 4-5 miles south of Pittsburg. They turned to follow it in their respective unmarked units, but the suspect figured out they were officers and sped up, Bragg said.
The sheriff and chief deputy alerted Deputy Tucker, who was in a marked unit, and the chase began when Tucker turned on his emergency lights and the suspect didn't stop, said Bragg.
Bragg praised Texas Dept. of Transportation workers on a bridge project on Texas Hwy. 11, saying they heard sirens, stopped traffic, and got everyone off the road. Benge meantime praised all dispatchers, the employee who was robbed, and officers involved in the matter, saying everything "came together like clockwork."
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