MECKLENBURG, Va. (WTVR) - Mecklenburg Sheriff's Deputies released photos the people believed to be involved in a violent Sunday night robbery at Pearce’s Mini Mart on North Main St. in Lacrosse. Four men stormed in and deputies say two or three of them had guns, investigators said.
No one was seriously hurt, but the crime stirred up some old memories and emotions as the news spread through the tiny town.
"It hits close to home,” Tenille Harrison said. “I have kids. It's a scary situation.”
Harrison is a late night clerk at one of three convenience stores in a community where she said everyone either knows you by face or name. She said she’s terrified to consider Sunday night’s crime happened at Pearce’s mini-mart, just a quarter-mile down the road from where she works.
"Four suspects entered the store,” said Maj. Terry Edmonds. “One hopped over the counter and struck the clerk. He had minor injuries. It was an elderly man."
Deputies said the suspects also pointed a gun at the owner’s head, a man in his 40's.
Edmonds said the call for help brought back memories of a violent summer night, when the father of the current owner was murdered.
"June 26th, 1998. There was a robbery at Pearce’s where the store owner was shot and killed,” Edmonds said. “I got the call last night and I said, ‘Oh, my lord.’"
That murder suspect was caught more than 15 years ago and since been executed for another crime he committed in a neighboring jurisdiction.
As for Sunday's suspects, they're still on the run.
Investigators said an early 2000 Saab wagon was the getaway car and that it was in the area for hours.
"We have witnesses that say they saw this vehicle in the area, so we think this store was the intended target," Edmonds said.
All of the suspects wore masks, but investigators believe they're going to find them on video casing the place. If you saw that vehicle in Mecklenburg County Sunday, call 434-738-6171 and ask for Investigator Jason Seamons.
