GENTRY — Gentry police arrested a 13-year-old boy in connection with an armed robbery at a Phillips 66 station late Tuesday afternoon.
The business is at the corner of Arkansas highways 12 and 59 in Gentry.
About 5:25 p.m. Tuesday, the juvenile “entered the store and after other patrons had left approached the counter, pointed a dark-colored handgun at (the store clerk) and demanded cigarettes,” according to a police department news release. The juvenile also took other items in the robbery but did not ask for cash.
“The store clerk responded exactly as she should have,” said Gentry Police Chief Keith Smith, indicating the clerk stayed calm during the robbery and called 911 as soon as the youth left the store and fled behind a nearby business on foot.
Part-time Gentry officer Charles Brockmeyer arrived after the 911 call and arrested the juvenile without incident after a short foot pursuit. The juvenile was found with a loaded .22 caliber revolver and a second unloaded revolver, Smith said. The youth also had items taken in the store robbery.
The juvenile is believed to have stolen the guns from his parents’ locked bedroom after breaking into the room with an ax, Smith said. Smith believes the juvenile planned the robbery in a runaway attempt.
The youth was transported to the Benton County Juvenile Detention Center in Bentonville. He faces charges of aggravated robbery, a Class Y felony, and minor in possession of a handgun, a Class A misdemeanor, according to the news release.