Pine Bluff's police have been hopping of late as they search for the armed bandit (or bandits) who've robbed at least five stores and tried to knock off another, all in fewer than six weeks. Five of those hold-ups reportedly have occurred over the past two weeks.
The department's public information officer told me there's been one man (perhaps more) involved in taking money at gunpoint from a 7-Eleven, Cherry Street Liquor, a Corner Store convenience store, the Hazel Street Bottle Shop, and Dollar Mania, as well as an unsuccessful robbery attempt at a Dollar General. That's where the clerk recognized what was happening and wisely remained in the back room watching the would-be robber on a closed-circuit TV.
That prospective bandit reportedly became frustrated when no one appeared so he fired a random shot into the ceiling (thanks for the forensic evidence).
Earlier, a man wearing a mask and described as likely being in his mid-30s entered a liquor store about 4 p.m. and demanded money from the clerk who told me there were two women and a male customer in the store at the time. One woman fled.
"The robber was using the F word a lot and demanding money, waving a gun in my face and counting one, two, three four!" the clerk told me.
I learned of the rash of robberies from a valued reader who said these six incidents are the tip of a much larger armed robbery spree, the extent of which has gone largely unreported during the past two months.
Bonnie Johnson of Rison, who herself has been twice held up in the store she manages near the Hazel Street Bottle Shop, said she was at work the other day when that shop was robbed about 12:30 p.m. "They almost carjacked a customer coming out of my store but took one look at her van and realized she had two great Danes inside," she said.
"The latest robbery happened at another store on Hazel Street during the day when two men, each with a gun, robbed the store with six people inside. Why, they aren't even waiting until nightfall anymore," she said.
Retailers in Pine Bluff lately have started comparing notes on the rash of holdups. As a result, it appears there may be far more publicly unreported robberies in recent weeks than anyone realized. "I've been told by those who know there have been like 13 robberies in the last eight weeks and three in one day," Johnson said.
She was robbed in 2008 and again last year when the thief knocked Bonnie from a stool and took the entire cash register. "I've even posted the video of that on my Facebook Page. Neither of those robberies were reported in the paper either," she said.
My best wishes go out to the owners and managers of liquor, convenience and dollar stores in Pine Bluff who've been under this apparent assault of late by a brazen bunch of gun-totin' desperadoes.
Many readers doubtlessly recall how then-Pulaski County Sheriff Tommy Robinson effectively dealt with a similar outbreak of robberies around Little Rock during the 1970s. He placed armed deputies in the back rooms of several establishments with orders to shoot if an armed robber showed up. No more crime wave.
He knew better
It's always a sad deal when a veteran of law enforcement chooses to knowingly violate the laws he swore to uphold.
That happened not long ago when 43-year-old Robert Michael Hendrix of Centerton, a former officer with the Springdale Police Department and the Benton County Sheriff's Office, pleaded guilty to disclosing privileged information from the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC) and National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to an unauthorized person.
That's a felony tacked onto the misdemeanor charge of tampering, which led Circuit Judge Brad Karren to sentence Hendrix to six years of state-supervised probation under an act that allows his record to be expunged if he fulfills his probationary obligations.
And it wasn't as if this offense was a one- or two-time event for Hendrix who, data showed, continued using the department's Justice Exchange account that links to the ACIC and NCIC to provide background checks through his investigative company after the sheriff's office fired him.
Apparently, someone forgot to deactivate his privileged access.
As a result, officials said he accessed the database a whopping 246 times on his computer and cell phone, often selling background checks on individuals for $100 apiece.
I suppose some journalistic wag might say Hendrix pleaded guilty to exchanging justice at the Justice Exchange for lots more than pocket change.
Reporter Tracy Neal also reported the misdemeanor tampering charge involved Hendrix reportedly telling a witness to withhold information during the investigation into his activities.
Considering Hendrix's former position of public trust and reliance, I'd say six years of probation and an additional 120 hours of public service over three years amounted to a Christmas present in June.
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Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist. Email him at [email protected].
Editorial on 06/13/2017