By By ANDY HAMILTON / Niles Daily Star
NILES – The man allegedly responsible for the robbery at the Tank Town Citgo in Niles Township has been arrested, according to a press release from Lt. Michael Brown of the Michigan State Police Niles Post 53.
The release stated a 33-year-old Elkhart, Ind. man was arrested Tuesday at his home on a felony warrant for armed robbery by the St. Joseph County, Ind. Fugitive Team and the U.S. Marshal's Service. The suspect is currently lodged in the St. Joseph County, Ind. Jail pending extradition to Berrien County, the release stated.
Brown said Michigan State Police policy does not allow him to release a suspect's name until arraignment. However, officials at the St. Joseph County Jail confirmed Dameon Watson, 33, of Elkhart, Ind., was arrested Dec. 12 and is an inmate at the facility and waiting extradition to Berrien County.
The robbery occurred Monday at 1:10 p.m. at the Tank Town Citgo service station located at 2236 S. 11th St. The suspect allegedly entered the store, asked employees for directions and then stated he had a weapon.
The suspect never exposed a weapon to the employees or customers in the service station, but he did allegedly obtain an undetermined amount of cash from the register and then fled on foot. Watson is also suspected of robbing several businesses in Indiana, Brown said.
The suspect has allegedly refused to talk to law enforcement officials, Brown said. However, he added investigators are looking into the possibility Watson, after initially fleeing on foot, left the area around the service station in a vehicle.
A search canine from the Michigan State Police Bridgman post was called to the scene Monday but was unable to locate a trail that may have been left by the suspect.
"We speculate that he had a car that was parked down the street. We're not 100 percent, but we think he had a passenger car available to him," Brown said.
No additional suspects have been identified as part of the crime, he added.
An image of the alleged suspect captured during the robbery was released to media outlets Monday afternoon and also placed on CRIMENET. Brown said the suspect was identified after receiving multiple tips, all of which identified Watson as the person in the video surveillance image.
"The quality of the surveillance video and publication in CRIMENET and by media outlets were both crucial in rapidly identifying the suspect and solving this robbery," said Trooper Jeremy Cleary of the Michigan State Police Niles Post.
Brown said it does not appear Watson is linked to the recent robberies at Dollar General, Family Dollar and AutoZone in the Niles-Buchanan area.