Apparent car trouble led to the arrest of a man suspected in three robberies in three counties—including one in Henderson.
Maurice Watkins, 48, Owensboro, faces first-degree robbery charges in Henderson, Hopkins and Christian counties, according to Henderson Police Detective Jake Isonhood.
Locally, the alleged armed robbery occurred around 12:36 p.m. Tuesday at Cricket Wireless, 2640 U.S. 41-North. No one was injured.
Isonhood said witnesses reported that a man with dreadlocks, wearing leggings, sunglasses and carrying a tan purse, entered the business. He then allegedly pulled a gun and demanded money.
The man fled the scene with an unspecified amount of money and headed in the direction of Sureway, where he got into a silver Chevrolet vehicle, said HPD Lt. John Nevels.
“We were dispatched at 12:40 p.m. to Cricket Wireless,” Isonhood said. Roughly two hours later, the detective said, a Dollar General Store in Hanson was robbed, allegedly by the same person. Hanson and Henderson are approximately 30 miles apart.
(Henderson police said law enforcement in Hopkins County told them that a theft on April 12 at a business in Hopkinsville is connected to the Henderson and Hanson robberies.)
Sometime after the alleged Hanson robbery, Watkins began experiencing car trouble, authorities said.
“His check engine light came on,” Nevels said. “He took the car back to the dealership in Owensboro—where he’d recently purchased it—to complain. We’re not sure how long ago he bought the car, but it still had temporary tags on it.”
Nevels said that’s where Watkins and his girlfriend, Sylvia Castro, 37, were located by the Owensboro Police Department.
They were taken into custody.
Isonhood said cash—believed to be from the Henderson and Hanson robberies—was found in the possession of Watkins and Castro. During an interview, Watkins subsequently confessed to all three robberies, Isonhood said.
On Wednesday authorities searched Watkins’ vehicle where they allegedly located the disguise he wore during the Henderson and Hanson robberies.
“We searched the vehicle and located the leggings, the wig with dreadlocks, the sunglasses, the shirt and the tan purse,” Isonhood said. “Inside the purse was the black pellet gun used in the robbery. We were initially told the robbery suspect had long dreadlocks, but it turned out it was just a wig.”
HPD investigators said this isn’t Watkins’ first time as a robbery suspect.
He was charged in 2000 and 2007 in robbery cases. Officials said he is involved in a more recent robbery occurrence which has yet to be adjudicated.
While Watkins is looking at robbery offenses in three counties, Castro faces charges only in connection with the Hanson and Hopkinsville robberies.
In Henderson, “Watkins got out of the car to rob Cricket, and she, (Castro) apparently is feeling hungry. So, she went into Sureway to get food. He comes back to the car, and she’s still in Sureway. He had to wait for her. We didn’t have anything to directly charge her” in relation to the local heist, Isonhood said.
Both Watkins and Castro have been transferred from the Daviess County Detention Center to the county where the first alleged robbery occurred—Christian County, where they are currently lodged at the Christian County Detention Center.
