Two Arrested After Robbery, Chase

— Two robbery suspects are in custody after police used spike strips to stop their vehicle Friday morning on Interstate 540 near West Fork.

Fayetteville police were alerted to a robbery at the campus Walmart by University of Arkansas police just after 9 a.m.

Lt. Gary Crain with UAPD said a man entered the Walmart in the Garland Avenue parking facility about 8:53 a.m., grabbed a donation jar from a counter and ran with employees in hot pursuit.

An employee was punched in the face before the man got in a white Ford Ranger. The truck, driven by a woman, headed north on Garland Avenue.

A Fayetteville officer spotted the Ranger with Texas plates on Wedington Drive at the Sang Avenue intersection and the chase was on.

The truck with cops in pursuit headed south on I-540. The chase hit 95 miles per hour at times.

Fayetteville officers and Washington County Sheriff’s deputies were in the West Fork area working a drug case, according to Sgt. Craig Stout, with the Fayetteville Police Department.

Deputies deployed spike strips that ruptured two of the truck’s tires and brought it to a halt.

Police arrested James Roork, 26 and Denise Marie Berry, 25.

Both are from Texas and have no affiliation with the university, according to Crain.

Roork and Berry are expected to face multiple charges from multiple agencies but were not booked in the county jail as of late Friday afternoon.

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