3.10.23 – KOMU – Boone County
A Columbia man is in custody Friday in connection to a February attempted armed robbery at a gas station.
A dropped cell phone led Columbia Police to arrest a man for an armed robbery.
On February 23, 2023, someone pressed the panic alarm behind the counter at the Break Time on Smiley Lane.
An employee told police a man had come in, put a gun to his head, and demanded money from the safe.
The victim said the man took him to the back.
The victim then said the man put the gun down briefly.
The employee tried to grab the gun.
That started a struggle, and the employee said the man fell backward when he got control of the gun, dropping his cell phone.
The man then ran out of the store.
Police traced the phone to a Nakwon Harris.
Security video showed a man matching Harris’ description in the store and pumping gas into a car about half an hour before the robbery.
Prosecutors charged Harris with one count of Attempted Robbery, Armed Criminal Action, Unlawful Use of a Weapon, and Kidnapping 2nd Degree.
He was arrested on March 10, and held in the Boone County Jail without bond.