By RACHEL C. DOVE
Staff Writer
WILLIAMSON - Following the success of the first “Mingo’s Most Wanted” article in the Daily News, local police agencies have selected additional cases to feature in hopes that the public would step forward with tips that would lead to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the following crimes.
Sgt. Joe Smith of the Mingo County Sheriff’s Department (MCSD) has released information pertaining to two armed robberies that took place in 2011, one in the Dingess community and the other in Taylorville, that to date, remain unsolved due to the lack of evidence that would identify the masked robbers.
On July 25, 2011, in the wee hours of the morning, a store clerk employed at the Taylorville Quick Stop experienced the unthinkable when a masked man fully clothed in camouflage entered the business with a large kitchen knife and demanded she open the register and give him all the money inside.
The defendant is then said to have jumped across the counter and put the knife to the clerk’s throat and told her he would cut her if she didn’t obey. The masked robber allegedly removed $400 in cash from the register and also grabbed the purse of the terrified cashier and ran from the store.
The clothing that concealed the man’s identity was describes as a dark colored, full-face ski mask and Woodland brand camouflage coveralls, military type boots and brown or black gloves.
The investigating officer who responded to this 911 call was Deputy M. Lendearo.
The second robbery featured by the MCSD took place on Sept. 24, 2011, at Jamie’s Grocery, located at Dingess.
According to the complaint filed by Deputy S. Smith, shortly before midnight on this date, a 911 call was placed asking for law enforcement to respond to Jamie’s Grocery where an armed robbery had just took place.
An unknown masked male allegedly entered the business armed with a gun, and demanded the money from the register. The clerk complied, and the armed robber ran from the store with approximately $1,700 in cash and cigarettes.
The clerk described the robber as a white male wearing a full-faced ski mask and glasses with dark lenses. There is reportedly no surveillance footage of this crime.
If you have any information regarding these robberies, you are asked to contact the MCSD at 304-235-0300. Your information and tips is all they ask for, you do not have to reveal your identity.
Williamson City Police Chief C.D. Rockel is requesting the public’s help in locating Chad D. Justice, a 24 year old male whose last known address was in the McCarr, Ky./Matewan area. Justice is facing charges of forgery, uttering and fraudulent schemes that stemmed from a scam in which the defendant is said to have created fake payroll checks bearing the name of a fictitious business and would open bank accounts in which he would deposit the checks. He would then proceed to withdraw the funds over a period of several days before the bank would become aware that the check was bogus.
Justice is no stranger to the legal system and has been arrested on similar charges in the past.
“He had the pattern down to a science,” stated Rockel. “This is a criminal act that he repeated over and over again and from what I understand, he is also wanted in other counties and in the State of Kentucky for the same charges.”
Rockel explained that the defendant would withdraw the largest portion of the money from the bank ATM’s after regular business hours or on the weekend before the information was entered showing that the check he had deposited was not from a real business.
“He managed to fraud one local financial institution out of $2,500,” said the chief. “And I’m sure this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Justice is a former graduate of Belfry High School and is described as being approximately 6 ft. tall and 150 lbs. in stature with brown hair and blue eyes. He had been photographed in the past wearing a moustache and goatee.
“Justice is also a person of interest who is wanted for questioning in Florida regarding fraudulent schemes,” stated Chief Rockel. “Like I said, he’s the definition of what a repeat offender is.”
If you have information regarding the whereabouts of Chad Justice, you are asked to call the Williamson Police Department at 304-235-2570. Your identity may remain anonymous.
Keep watch for the next article in the Daily News that will feature additional criminals and unsolved cases that have been chose by law enforcement to be featured in “Mingo’s Most Wanted”.
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