As a 42-year-old Washington C.H. man was reportedly fleeing from the gas station he had just allegedly robbed Thursday, he ran right past a police officer who was investigating an unrelated case.
At approximately 1:40 a.m., Washington Police Department Patrolman Mathew Ellis was making contact with an individual in the 200 block of Walnut Street when he saw a man wearing a gray sweatshirt and a white t-shirt covering his face running northbound across East Market Street and past him on Walnut Street. The man, later identified as Christopher W. Lowe, ran northbound on Walnut, according to reports.
“I advised the defendant to stop and come talk to me to which the defendant defied,” Ellis wrote in his report. “The defendant turned around and looked at me, then proceeded eastbound in an alleyway.”
Ellis chased after Lowe while identifying himself as a police officer and was able to catch him in an alleyway intersection behind a residence on East Market Street, reports said. While taking Lowe into custody, Ellis said he observed a large amount of cash in Lowe’s left hand.
Another officer arrived and helped place Lowe in handcuffs. Police removed the white t-shirt covering Lowe’s face and found that the hood of the gray sweatshirt he was wearing was tied securely around his face, according to reports.
While escorting Lowe to the cruiser, Ellis was advised by a police dispatcher that the Flagway gas station – also known as “The Point” – was robbed by a man matching the clothing description of Lowe’s clothing. A Flagway employee told the dispatcher that the offender was wearing a white clothing article over his face and a gray sweatshirt.
The Flagway employee said he had been working at the cash register when he heard the front door shatter and saw a man enter the business through the shattered door, reports said. Lowe reportedly told the employee to give him all of the money.
Lowe allegedly had his hand inside his pocket and moved his arm away from his body. The employee told police that Lowe made a motion with his hand that made the employee think he was concealing a handgun. The employee then opened the register, Lowe allegedly collected the cash and then departed through the shattered door, according to reports.
Police investigated the scene, located at 915 E. Market St., and saw that the left front door was indeed shattered. They also found a rock inside of the store that was used to break the glass.
Lowe, of 648 Yeoman St., was charged with first-degree felony aggravated robbery, fifth-degree felony vandalism, and second-degree misdemeanor obstructing official business. He is being held in the Fayette County Jail on a $53,250 bond.