Tips lead to arrest of teen in robbery

FORT SMITH -- Tips from the public led to the arrest of a 17-year-old boy in the armed robbery of a convenience store in south Fort Smith on Christmas Eve, according to Fort Smith police.

The teen is accused of holding a handgun to the head of an employee at the E-Z Mart at 8401 U.S. 271 and forcing him to hand over money, about $70, before running away.

A police report stated that police were called to the E-Z Mart about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday on a report of an armed robbery. Sebastian County sheriff's deputies had arrived first and freed employee Matthew Fiser from a freezer into which the robber had forced him.

Fiser stated, according to the report, that he was in a bathroom preparing to mop the floor when he heard the doorbell ring. When he emerged from the bathroom, he told officers, a man put a black handgun to his head and forced him to the floor.

He then forced Fiser to empty the cash register and money from a drop safe before locking him in the freezer. On his way out the door, the robber took some cigarettes and left on foot, according to the report. The robbery was recorded on the in-store surveillance camera.

The robber was wearing a black hoodie with a white dog on the top left corner and "Love Pink" on the bottom of the back. He also was wearing a mask, gloves and bluejeans.

The report stated that a clerk at the Flash Market at Greenwood and Phoenix avenues reported a suspicious person with a similar description at about 12:30 a.m.

Authorities did not release the suspect's name, saying he was a minor.

-- Dave Hughes

NW News on 12/27/2014

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