Elwood K9 Digo commended after locating armed robbery suspect; Anderson man charged
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By STEVEN MURREY
An Anderson man is behind bars and faces multiple felonies, including armed robbery.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Officer Matt Mills of the Elwood Police Department traveled west on South A Street from South 18th Street and observed a gray passenger vehicle pulling out of the alley near 1620 South A Street at a high rate of speed. Mills was then advised of a robbery that had occurred at the Village Pantry, located directly behind 1620 South A Street.
Mills activated his emergency lights and siren. The vehicle turned south on South 16th Street before heading west into an alley near 218 South 16th Street. The vehicle continued into the Elwood Municipal Building parking lot, jumping the curb out of the parking lot onto South B, continuing west. Mills said the vehicle increased to a high rate of speed, disregarding stop signs at the intersections of South B and South 11th and South B and South 9th Street.
Mills observed the vehicle wreck into a fence of 503 South A at a dead end. Mills observed a suspect dressed in black running from the vehicle heading north behind a residence. At this time, Sergeant Nicholas Naselroad arrived and initiated a roaming perimeter. Mills deployed his canine partner Digo and began to search the area for the suspect.
Digo proceeded north down an alley along the fence the vehicle wrecked into. At the corner of the fence, Digo turned northwest, continuing across South A Street to the west of a nearby residence. Sergeant Greg Adams of the Madison County Sheriff’s Department arrived to assist. Mills and Digo continued to look for the suspect before a nearby resident alerted him he had run towards a fenced backyard. The search continued until Mills and Digo located the suspect, who began yelling for the dog not to bite him before surrendering.
The suspect was identified as 27-year-old Edwin Le’Anthony Ricard, of Anderson. Ricard reportedly told officers he failed to pull over because he saw the police behind him and got nervous. Edwin asked what the charges were and Mills said at the time the charge was resisting law enforcement. Edwin replied that he thought it was going to be armed robbery. He continued speaking, stating that Mills would have to have a clear description for them to say he was in the Village Pantry. Mills alerted Ricard that he pulled out in front of him leaving the gas station. Edwin stated he should have made them shoot him, mumbling about the amount of time he was going to go to prison for this.
Police interviewed a female witness to the robbery. She said she was walking out of the Village Pantry as she heard the clerk scream. She said she turned briefly and saw the suspect, later identified as Ricard, standing near the donuts to the right of the counter. The witness stated she saw him take hold of the clerk and that he had a gun. She then jumped into her vehicle and took off, calling 911.
The clerk told police during an interview that the suspect forced her from the back to the cash registers. He demanded she empty the registers telling her that he would shoot her if she did not do as he said. Once Ricard had the money from both registers, he demanded the clerk not call the police for five minutes.
Edwin Le’Anthony Ricard was taken into custody and charged with resisting law enforcement, a Level 6 felony; criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony; resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, a Level 6 felony and robbery, a Level 3 felony. Ricard was also cited for failure to yield, disregarding traffic control devices, failure to signal, unreasonable speed, and disregarding a stop sign x2. He is being held on a $20,000 full cash bond and a 10-day hold for probation violations. Ricard was arrested for robbery twice before in 2013 and 2014, local news records show.
Elwood Police Chief Jason Brizendine praised the department’s handling of the robbery. He said that the city is fortunate to have officers regularly patrolling the streets, which aided in the quick response and apprehension of the suspect. Brizendine also gave kudos to Digo, who helped locate the suspect and scare him into surrendering.
Elwood Mayor Todd Jones issued the following statement:
“I want to commend the Elwood Police Department, Officer Matt Mills, and K9 Digo for the swift action regarding the armed robbery at Village Pantry. Fortunately for our citizens, our police department under the leadership of Chief Brizendine is one of the best-trained departments in the state. This is unfortunate for individuals who want to come to our city and commit crimes.
“Many times people are quick to criticize police not only locally but throughout the nation. However, if you look at the individuals behind the criticisms, they often have had run-ins with authorities or know someone who has. As long as the Jones Administration is in office, we will continue to support our public safety departments by giving them the best resources we can to keep them safe and to help them excel while protecting our community. Kudos again to the great work from our police department!”