WCBC

July 10th, 2015 by WCBC Radio

In the early morning hours of Friday, July 10, 2015, law enforcement responded to the report of an armed robbery at the BFS Convenience Store located in Terra Alta, West Virginia. The investigation revealed that a male subject wearing a red ski mask entered the store armed with an AR-15 assault rifle and demanded money from the female clerk. The male suspect fled the store in a red Ford F-150 pickup truck. No injuries were reported and no shots were fired at the store.
Shortly thereafter, the Preston E-911 Center received a report that a male wearing a red ski mask forced his way into a residence located along Ringer Avenue also in Terra Alta, West Virginia armed with an assault rifle and a .45 caliber pistol. The investigation revealed that upon entering the residence, the suspect was confronted by a male resident who was able to disarm the male of the assault rifle, although numerous rounds were discharged from both the rifle and the .45 caliber pistol.
The suspect fled the Ringer Avenue scene and crashed the red Ford pickup truck into a tree on Bridge Street in Terra Alta.
The Preston E-911 also received a call from 27 year old James Allen Lewis of Terra Alta who reported that he had been robbed of an AR-15 rifle at a residence located along Ringer Avenue. Deputies located James Allen Lewis who was seated in his Red Ford F-150 pickup truck that had been recently involved in a crash.
James Allen Lewis was subsequently arrested for two charges of First Degree Robbery and one count of Wanton Endangerment involving a firearm. Lewis was arraigned before Magistrate Janice Snider and was then transported to the Tygart Valley Regional Jail in lieu of $210,000 bond.
The Preston County Sheriff's Department was assisted with this investigation by members of the West Virginia State Police and the Kingwood City Police Department.