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Graham gas station robbery leads to pursuit, five arrests

Fri, 05/07/2021 - 4:21 pm
editor@grahamleader.com

Four Graham men and one Wichita Falls man were arrested last Thursday on charges of aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity after a robbery at the north Allsup’s in Graham. Other charges are also pending on all five suspected to be involved with 12 vehicle burglaries in Graham last week.

Graham Police Department officers were dispatched to the north Allsup’s on 204 Elm St. in Graham at 2:39 a.m. April 29 in response to an armed robbery call. Young County dispatch reported the on-duty clerk at Allsup’s called and reported they were robbed at gunpoint and the suspects left the store on foot in different directions from the scene of the crime.

GPD Officer Hailey Calcote saw a red Pontiac traveling fast on Fourth St. while responding to the robbery and believed it may have been involved in the robbery due to the rate of travel. Officer Calcote caught the red Pontiac after a short pursuit and stopped the vehicle in the 300 block of Gleese St. According to GPD, due to the nature of the crime and the pursuit by the officer, the occupants of the vehicle were removed at gunpoint one at a time. GPD was assisted by the Young County Sheriff’s Office with the removal of the occupants.

The occupants were identified as Desmond Dajuan Sanders, Jr., 19, of Wichita Falls, Michael Anthony Sirianni, Jr., 18, of Graham, Erick Eduardo Sanchez, 18, of Graham, Anthony Tristin Cromer, 18, of Graham, and Alexander Lara, 17, of Graham.

“After all subjects were placed into police custody, officers inventoried the vehicle, incident to arrest. During the vehicle inventory, articles were located inside the vehicle that provided an affirmative link to the aggravated robbery at Allsup’s. Two handguns were also located during the investigation,” GPD Chief Brent Bullock wrote in a release.

The following day after the arrest of the five individuals, GPD took reports of 12 burglaries of vehicles during the day shift. After an investigation by the department they learned most of the reported stolen property from the vehicle burglaries was in the vehicle the suspects were found in the previous morning.

For the rest of the story, see the May 8 edition of The Graham Leader.