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North Little Rock, AR cops stand by and watch as convenience store is robbed!
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ^ | 31 AUG 02 | BY JIM BROOKS

Posted on 08/31/2002 9:15:32 AM PDT by DCBryan1

Police watched store robbery, court files say
BY JIM BROOKS
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

North Little Rock police knew hours ahead of time that a convicted robber and kidnapper planned to hold up a convenience store Feb. 8 and watched as the robbery occurred, court records reveal.

But police never told the store clerk and waited until the armed man left the business before attempting to arrest him, the files show.

Investigators were tipped off about the robbery of the E-Z Mart at 3600 MacArthur Drive by a confidential informant who dropped the robber off a short distance from the store while police staked out the business. Police knew the informant would be driving the robber to the store, the records say.

Police confronted Willie Roy Lowery, 32, as he walked from the store, but Lowery bolted and hid for three hours in a nearby drainage ditch before he was arrested.

The clerk, Aaron Black, was not injured in the robbery. Black declined a request for an interview.

Black’s mother, who declined to give her name, said her son told her that police explained their timely presence at the convenience store by saying they were in the area investigating reports of cars being broken into at a nearby business. (Police lying to civilians!?> Say it ain't so!)

"It sounds like they [police] put my son’s life in danger," she said when told about the court filing. (No Mam, They DID put your son's life in danger.)

North Little Rock Police Chief Danny Bradley said that, after speaking with prosecutors handling the case, he would not release details or answer specific questions about the incident until a forthcoming trial is concluded. But the chief said police have to consider multiple factors in determining the safest way to apprehend a suspect.

"A lot of times, you make the decision to allow the person to leave before trying to make an apprehension," he said. "I can say that as a matter of policy... the safety of the public is our primary concern."

Efforts to reach criminal justice experts at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, as well as at the Criminal Justice Institute in Little Rock, were unsuccessful.

The circumstances surrounding the robbery emerged in court documents filed by prosecutors who were attempting to keep the identity of the informant a secret from Lowery’s defense attorney.

The informant issue surfaced during a July 24 jury trial that had to be rescheduled. Pulaski County Circuit Judge John Langston set an Aug. 12 hearing on defense attorney Herb Wright’s motion to force the state to name the informant. Four days later, Langston ruled in favor of the defense.

In a response to the defense motion, Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Melanie Martin outlined the testimony expected at Lowery’s coming trial: "A confidential informant gave the officers a tip on the evening of Feb. 7 that the defendant would be robbing the store sometime that evening," Martin wrote. "This led to the store being surrounded by officers at the time of the offense.

"The facts would reveal that this confidential informant dropped the defendant off approximately fifty yards from the store and then drove off. The confidential informant was not detained by the police, nor was he arrested and charged with being an accomplice."

Lowery was on parole at the time of the robbery. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison in June 1987 after being convicted of aggravated robbery, felony theft and kidnapping, but was paroled less than 11 years later. In September 1998, he was returned to prison after his parole was revoked, but he again was released on parole in July 2001. After his arrest in the E-Z Mart robbery, Lowery was returned to prison. His trial date on aggravated-robbery and theft charges is set for Sept. 10 in Langston’s court.

A trial on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm is set for Oct. 31 in the same court.

The robbery occurred about 3:30 a.m. on Feb. 8 and was captured on the store’s video cameras.

A police report in the case said a robber entered the store wearing a hood over his head, threatened Black with a handgun and demanded money. The robber took a packing knife from Black and forced him to walk from the store at gunpoint, court records reveal.

"After exiting the store with the clerk, the defendant [Lowery ] was surrounded by officers and told to stop," Martin wrote in the court document. "He fled from the police, and during the pursuit dropped the money, cigarettes and his jacket."

North Little Rock police arrested Lowery several hours later after he emerged from a drainage culvert near the convenience store. Lowery did not have a gun when he was arrested, but he was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm based on his statement to detectives.

Martin and Wright declined to speak about the impending case.

Kim Fowler, a spokesman for E-Z Mart corporate offices in Texarkana, Texas, said the company works closely with law enforcement officials in every community.

"We trust that they know what they’re doing," she said. "We have faith in their ability to serve and protect."UN FREAKING BELIVABLE!

Dale Sides, director of loss prevention for the company, said he knows of several situations in which police staked out a robbery without notifying the clerk.

"This is really not uncommon," he said. "In fact, clerks are probably better off not knowing."

Sides said if a clerk is aware of an impending robbery and knows police are watching, he might act nervously or impulsively and put himself in more danger.

"He might have false hope knowing that officers are just outside and might do something to endanger himself," Sides said. "Our No. 1 priority is the safety of our employees."

North Little Rock Alderman Tony Vestal declined to comment on the police’s handling of the robbery.

"I knew that the robbery occurred, but I didn’t know about the exact circumstances," said Vestal, who represents the ward in which the robbery occurred.

"Without having all the information, I wouldn’t want to make a judgment one way or the other on how the police handled it."


TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; US: Arkansas
KEYWORDS: crime; donutwatch; felon; police; robbery; selfdefense
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To: SarahW
"He would have been imprisoned."

That's fine... and now he's going to serve a sentence for armed robbery to boot... Which means, he ain't getting out for quite awhile...
61 posted on 08/31/2002 11:58:25 AM PDT by marajade
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To: coloradan
Maybe "The Perp"is a longtime FOB?
62 posted on 08/31/2002 11:58:29 AM PDT by bandleader
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To: marajade
And if they put an unarmed police officer in there as a clerk do you think the prosecution would be successful getting a conviction?

  1. I didn't say unarmed undercover officer, I said armed undercover officer.
  2. The entire event was captured on the store security camera. So it is irrelevent as to who was behind the counter in relation to "getting a conviction".
  3. If the perp had shot the clerk, do you think it would have been better for everyone?
You seem to think that it was a stroke of genius to have allowed the clerk to take a shot in the chest if the perp would have been so inclined. At least a cop with a vest and a gun could have taken steps to prevent that from happening to himself if the need arose.

The more I think about this, the more I see this as a flagrant dereliction of duty on the part of the police department.

63 posted on 08/31/2002 12:02:50 PM PDT by FormerLurker
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To: marajade
If they were informed he was to commit armed robbery, they knew the clerks life was in danger. They knew he was carrying a deadly weapon and might injure or kill an innocent person in commision of the crime.

They decided that it was more important to get a conviction for armed robbery than to protect the clerk. Wrong choice.
The clerk's life was worth more.

If you or I knew hours ahead that a person was going to commit armed robbery and put a person's life in danger, did nothing but watch as they did it we might face charges of being an accessory before the fact to murder if the clerk were killed.

The police thought it was more important to get him convicted on a more serious charge, than to put him in jail for years on a lesser one. This choice could have resulted in the death of the clerk.
64 posted on 08/31/2002 12:03:02 PM PDT by SarahW
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To: marajade
I dont know if it is a crime in your state or Florida , and to be honest it matters not to me when I'm protecting myself , my wife and innocent civilians .

If it is I'll pay the price for that happily to secure there safety and the freedom to persue the lives they have . What good is a law if you cant trust the lawmakers or those charged to enforce them ?

The police have no right to supply another potential victim ever , and that is the problem here marajade .

65 posted on 08/31/2002 12:03:26 PM PDT by Ben Bolt
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To: dorben
That's your judgment to make for yourself... I wouldn't expect others to commit illegalities though just for the sake that something MIGHT happen...
66 posted on 08/31/2002 12:07:19 PM PDT by marajade
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To: SarahW
" ... they knew the clerks life was in danger."

Armed robbery is different than murder... Maybe the police felt it better not for the victim to have a gun because if he was armed the incident may escalate and the victim may have been harmed.
67 posted on 08/31/2002 12:08:52 PM PDT by marajade
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To: SarahW
Are you a sworn law enforcement officer?
68 posted on 08/31/2002 12:09:56 PM PDT by marajade
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To: niki; Dog Gone
This is an incident that occurred not far from me. I'd be interested in the take of some of the folks who have been active on the threads of the Houston cops' abuse of power. Of course, this is a very different kind of situation, but it might generate some interesting discussion. I thought maybe y'all could ping some of the others.
69 posted on 08/31/2002 12:10:07 PM PDT by sweetliberty
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To: FormerLurker
"I didn't say unarmed undercover officer, I said armed undercover officer."

If this were true and the armed undercover officer shot the person committing the robbery and he was killed, the officer could be prosecuted for murder...
70 posted on 08/31/2002 12:11:11 PM PDT by marajade
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To: marajade
You seem to place a higher value on others judgement to secure your own person . I dont fancy myself being used as cannon fodder nor the clerk possibly , but I'll not pretend to speak for him .

Considering he was not given a choice in the matter I'll never know . Good luck to you Sir .

71 posted on 08/31/2002 12:13:36 PM PDT by Ben Bolt
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To: dorben
"You seem to place a higher value on others judgement to secure your own person ."

You are right in that I trust the judgment of that of professional law enforcement officials that they know how to do their job. I'm sorry that you do not.

And I'm female...
72 posted on 08/31/2002 12:15:29 PM PDT by marajade
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To: Squantos
From the Arkansas Crime Information Center the definition of Accessory: A person who assists in the commission of a crime.

The LEO's should be held as accessories to this crime...they literally aided in a successful armed robbery. This is one civil suit I wouldn't mind seeing.

73 posted on 08/31/2002 12:19:39 PM PDT by in the Arena
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To: marajade
I either do not make myself very clear or you are perhaps a bit preoccupied . I'll presume things are a little better off in Arizona with respect to law enforcement .

Would you like to have been the clerk on this thread ? Would you have cared to know at all that people put you in this situation when it was not necessary to do so ?

74 posted on 08/31/2002 12:20:41 PM PDT by Ben Bolt
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To: DCBryan1
Efforts to reach criminal justice experts at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, as well as at the Criminal Justice Institute in Little Rock, were unsuccessful.
75 posted on 08/31/2002 12:21:01 PM PDT by Old Professer
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To: in the Arena
" ... they literally aided in a successful armed robbery."

If this was the case, there would no law enforcement officers left on the street to patrol.
76 posted on 08/31/2002 12:21:14 PM PDT by marajade
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To: dorben
"Would you like to have been the clerk on this thread ?"

That's not the point... You're questioning the judgment of law enforcement...

The police didn't exactly know for sure the crime was going to be committed, they just got information that might happen. If police forces used personnel to put themselves in situations that might happen, there would be no resources left available to do what police forces are supposed to do...
77 posted on 08/31/2002 12:24:47 PM PDT by marajade
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To: sweetliberty
I understand the reasons for the cops wanting to wait for the robbery to be committed, because it means the criminal will go back to prison for a long time. Much longer than if the cops had arrested him before the robbery for a weapons violation.

On the other hand, this was an extremely dangerous crime. It's one thing to wait for an extortion attempt, or a theft of a warehouse. This is something else entirely.

If the perp had planned a murder, would they have waited for that? This is awfully close to that, and I agree with the others who say that the clerk was used as expendable bait. Thank God nobody was killed.

78 posted on 08/31/2002 12:27:04 PM PDT by Dog Gone
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To: Dog Gone
"If the perp had planned a murder, would they have waited for that? This is awfully close to that, and I agree with the others who say that the clerk was used as expendable bait. Thank God nobody was killed."

That would be true, if the police had proof positive it was GOING to happen, but they didn't...


79 posted on 08/31/2002 12:28:33 PM PDT by marajade
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To: marajade
If this were true and the armed undercover officer shot the person committing the robbery and he was killed, the officer could be prosecuted for murder...

Are you smoking some wacky weed, or are you just being purposely dense?

You're trying to tell me that if a police officer shot and killed an armed robber in the course of a robbery, that the officer could or would be prosecuted for murder? Get real.

Officers have "accidently" shot and sometimes killed innocent unarmed men, women, and children in the course of drug raids, yet were never prosecuted and remain on the force.

80 posted on 08/31/2002 12:29:21 PM PDT by FormerLurker
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