Published: August 21, 2008 08:35 am            

Suspects arrested in Dollar General robberies

By Sean Bailey / Staff Writer

Police in Grayson County may have caught the men responsible for a string of Dollar General robberies across Kentucky and Tenneesee earlier this week — possibly including one in Williamsburg.

Two men clad entirely in black disabled the alarm system at the Dollar General in Williamsburg on Aug. 13 and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash. At the time, Williamsburg Police described the burglary as the work of “professionals.” The suspects appeared to have rehearsed the break-in — they pried open the door, disabled surveillance cameras, disabled the alarm system and opened the safe — all in approximately 15 minutes.

The means of entry and the description of the suspects matched those of burglaries of other Dollar Generals across Kentucky and Tennessee.

Williamsburg Police Department Public Affairs Officer Shawn Jackson said the men arrested in Grayson County used very similar methods as those used in Williamsburg, but at this point Jackson said he couldn’t absolutely connect them to the Williamsburg burglary.

“There are a lot of similarities with this robbery and the one we had. Enough that I might be driving out to Grayson to interview the suspects,” Jackson said.

Jackson said he was aware of at least one police department from Tennessee interviewing the men detained in Grayson County.

A man who allegedly robbed a separate Dollar General Store in Williamsburg was also arrested early this week.

Eric Scott Chapman, 27, allegedly shoplifted several items from the Dollar General on Aug. 11. When Dollar General employees tried to stop Chapman from leaving the store he allegedly shoved a woman with a small child in her arms. Allegedly, Chapman then tried to run over two other employees.

Chapman was arrested early Tuesday morning and charged with first-degree robbery and first-degree wanton endangerment.

        

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