Police say 2 teens held 3 at Arby's, stole car, crashed

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Two teenagers held three Arby's employees at gunpoint early Saturday in a robbery attempt before fleeing in a stolen car and causing a head-on collision, according to a Little Rock Police Department news release.

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Little Rock officers were dispatched to 15510 Chenal Parkway about 12:32 a.m. after the robbery was reported and the victims had been held at the restaurant for two hours, according to a report.

Jeremy James, 25, the Arby's assistant manager, was leaving work with two other employees when the robbers approached with a gun and forced them back inside, the report states.

The robbers attempted several times to open a safe -- even firing at -- but could not get it open.

Christine Krumpton, 50, said she was forced to the ground and told she would be killed if she moved, according to the report.

One attacker sexually assaulted another female employee in a bathroom, and James was shot at twice, but the bullets missed, the report said.

When the safe's time delay thwarted further attempts to open it, the robbers took the keys to James' car and fled.

On the way to the Arby's, Little Rock officers spotted the stolen car going the wrong way just before it collided with another vehicle near the 13000 block of Chenal Parkway.

One person in the stolen car ran off and was later picked up about 7:15 a.m. The other lay inside the vehicle and was transported to Baptist Health Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Richard Pipkin, 56, the driver of the other vehicle, was trapped inside for a while, but did not report any injuries, Little Rock police Lt. Sidney Allen said.

The teen driving the car will be charged as an adult with four counts of aggravated robbery, three counts of theft of property, three counts of kidnapping, one count of felony fleeing and one count of felony hit-and-run.

Charges for the passenger will be decided at a later time. He was undergoing surgery Saturday and could not give a statement, Allen said. The sexual-assault allegation is associated with him.

The Arby's was open Saturday, according to a manager at the restaurant.

The restaurant was checking the damage from the robbery, Allen said.

"The people involved were pretty shaken up and held for a couple hours, so they still have to check the inventory," he said.

A call to an Arby's company spokesman was not returned Saturday.

Metro on 08/31/2014