Published: July 12, 2008 10:26 pm      

Robbery suspect arrested

A suspect has been arrested for allegedly robbing two businesses and trying to rob a third in less than three hours’ time, Raleigh County sheriff’s detectives said.

Kyle Steven Pitman, 20, of Wildwood Avenue, Beckley, was taken into custody around 9 p.m. Friday, according to a release from Sgt. Larry Lilly, chief of detectives for the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Department. Pitman is charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, one count of attempted robbery and one count of conspiracy to commit a felony.

Pitman is being held in Southern Regional Jail in lieu of $250,000 bond.

The incidents at Opportunity Knocks, a video poker parlor along Robert C. Byrd Drive in Crab Orchard, the Sunoco on U.S. 19 in Bradley and the Little General Store atop Sprague Hill were reported between 2:49 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. Thursday, according to Lilly. Which ones were the robberies and which was the robbery attempt were unknown.

In each incident, a male suspect brandished a handgun and demanded cash, according to Lilly.

— E-mail: apridemore

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