Police on Tuesday arrested the third of four suspects in a Fayetteville robbery that occurred earlier this month and involved a machete-wielding assailant who wore a clown mask.
Sgt. Craig Stout, a spokesman for the Fayetteville Police Department, said 24-year-old Jacob Chu of Van Buren was arrested earlier in the day. According to a police report, he and three others forced their way into an apartment in the 1300 block of North Oakland Avenue on Dec. 12 and stole a laptop.
Witnesses told police one of the robbers, identified as Latrell Richmond, wore a clown mask and held a machete during the robbery. One witness told police that Richmond had pointed the machete at her during the incident.
The victim in the robbery told police he recognized the clown mask from previous encounters with Richmond, and one of the witnesses saw him remove it at one point.
According to the report, Richmond and Dylan Parrett assaulted the victim after entering the apartment around 3 a.m. Parrett was angry because the victim owed him $150 for a mattress, the victim told police. One of the responding officers saw bruising around the unnamed victim’s right eye.
Richmond and Parrett were arrested earlier in December, Stout said. They each face charges of aggravated residential burglary, aggravated robbery, property theft and third-degree battery.
Police said Chu and the other robber didn’t attack the victim. During the robbery, Chu said he didn’t “know the group was going to do this,” the report said. When the victim confronted Chu, the fourth robber stepped in and asked the victim if he wanted to fight.
All four robbers fled after realizing the victim called 911. They drove off in a red car.
Chu is charged with aggravated residential burglary, aggravated robbery and property theft. He’s being held at the Washington County jail on $15,000 bond. Police have yet to arrest the fourth suspect.
