One arrested, two others wanted for robbery and assault – Salisbury Post

SALISBURY – One man was arrested and warrants were issued for two others in connection with a robbery that left one man hospitalized.

Officers responded to the parking lot of the Powles-Staton Funeral Home in Rockwell around 11:30 p.m. Friday after Rockwell police officers found a man there with head injuries, said Captain Mark McDaniel, public information officer for the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office. The victim was reportedly treated for severe head injuries and taken to the hospital.

The man told officers the incident occurred at a party at a home in the 1000 block of Puckett Drive, McDaniel said. He was sitting in his car outside the home, talking on the phone with someone about an upcoming appointment, when a woman approached him and asked him to help her find a lost credit card.

While he was searching for the card, three men approached him and suddenly pushed the victim to the ground before starting to beat him, McDaniel said. Eventually, the three men allegedly stole the man’s backpack and everything inside, including the victim’s medication.

After speaking with the victim, officers reportedly went to the home on Puckett Drive and searched it with the homeowner’s permission. They did not find the men, but were contacted after the search through the news outlet, which informed them that another officer had found one of the men, 23-year-old Chandler Austin King, at a nearby gas station, McDaniel said. King was reportedly found in a blue Thunderbird belonging to another of the men, Tristan Butler.

King told officers that he knew the victim but had been at the lake all day and knew nothing about his injuries or the robbery, McDaniel said.

King was arrested and transported to Rowan County District Court where he was charged with robbery and assault. Due to the Pretrial Integrity Act, King was not granted bail.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the other two men, Butler and Eric Coates, suspected of involvement in the robbery, McDaniel said. Their names have also reportedly been entered into the National Crime Information Center as wanted candidates.