Man arrested in connection with armed robbery at a Rocky Mount smoke shop

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C — A man has been arrested in connection with two robberies in Rocky Mount.

On May 2, Rocky Mount police officers responded to the parking lot at 216 Albermarle Avenue between the Rocky Mount Event Center and Douglas Block. When officers arrived, they found two people who had been shot.

Investigators determined that one of the victims approached the suspect, who was sitting in his Polaris Slingshot, a three-wheeled vehicle. After the person walked away, police said the suspect pulled out a handgun and fired toward the victims.

Investigators executed a search warrant at a home on Park Avenue and recovered evidence linking the suspect to a previously unsolved armed robbery at Smoke Shop 252 at 145 North Fairview Road that occurred on April 13.

Bobby Lawson, 25, was arrested and charged with the following crimes:

Lawson is being held without bail in the Edgecombe County Jail.

The investigation is ongoing.