Masked man arrested during armed robbery

A man wearing a “Freddie Krueger” mask robbed a West Main Street convenience store on Tuesday, but was arrested by Statesboro police within minutes of the robbery, along with two accomplices.
Kadeem Rashod Parrish, 19, Continental Road, entered Pojo’s Supermarket on West Main near Martin Luther King Boulevard around 8:40 p.m. Tuesday. He was wearing a mask and brandishing a knife, Statesboro Police Chief Stan York said. He took a large amount of cash, left the store and got into a gold Honda Accord.
The clerk gave police a description of the car and a 16-year-old girl who had entered the store minutes before Parrish. York said the underage girl, who was presumed to be reported missing or a runaway from Jonesboro, was “scouting” the store before Parrish went in to rob the clerk.
Within minutes, Cpl. Dan Barber spotted the Honda on Elm Street, where a man got into the back seat. Barber followed it to Cotton Avenue, where the car stopped in front of a house, York said.
Barber and the other officers questioned the three occupants – the teenager, the driver – Leon Mark Owens, 40, US 80 West – and the man in the back seat, Parrish.
A travel bag containing a Freddie Krueger mask, a knife and a large sum of money was also found in the car, he said.
Although the clerk could not identify Parrish because of his mask, she was able to positively identify the teenager who had been in the store immediately before Parrish came in and robbed her, York said.
Based on the evidence and the victim’s statement, officers and Detective Tommy Brown, who led the investigation, arrested the three suspects and took them to the Bulloch County Jail, where they were charged with armed robbery and possession of a knife during the commission of a felony.
According to jail records, Owens was also charged with driving without a license.
The employee was not injured, York said.
Holli Deal Bragg can be reached at (912) 489-9414.