2 in custody after store theft, brawl reported

Two suspects were in custody Saturday night after Beckley Police say a woman who fought with about 10 officers in the middle of Harper Road allegedly stole cash from a discount store safe.

Around 9 p.m. Saturday, a woman wearing a ski mask entered the Dollar General store on Robert C. Byrd Drive, near X-Treme Sports, said Patrolman Jamie Blume of the Beckley Police Department. The woman went to the store’s back room, entered the combination to the store safe and left with an undisclosed amount of cash.

She fled the store on foot, then met her husband who was waiting in a vehicle, Blume said. The two fled the scene, with the female driving. Police officers caught up to them on Harper Road, between the Pagoda Motel and the Eagles Convenience Mart.

Police tried to take the two into custody, but the female suspect instead tried to fight an estimated 10 police officers in the middle of Harper Road, Blume said. Her husband stood by at Eagles Convenience Mart and watched the scuffle.

The two suspects were processed at the Beckley Police Department late Saturday, Blume said. Charges against the female suspect were pending. Police were also working to determine the male suspect’s possible involvement.

Officers recovered the stolen cash and the female suspect’s ski mask, Blume said. The female suspect was found armed with a large, fixed-blade knife, and the male suspect had a pocket knife.

The female suspect is a recently terminated employee of Dollar General who knew the safe combination, Blume said.

Cpl. Will Reynolds is the lead investigator in the case, Blume said.

— E-mail: apridemore@register-herald.com