News Flash

Two Men Arrested on Robbery Charges Following Chase

Two men were arrested on armed robbery charges following a commercial armed robbery and chase this morning.

Officers responded to a robbery call at the Subway at 2121 T.W. Alexander Drive at 7:17 a.m. today. The victims told officers that two masked men armed with pistols entered the business and demanded money. The men fled with an undisclosed amount of cash.

A description of the suspects’ vehicle – a white Volkswagen sedan – was broadcast to officers. A short time later, an officer with Squad 4D spotted a vehicle matching that description on T.W. Alexander Drive near Cornwallis Road and tried to stop it, but the driver refused to stop. Officers briefly chased the vehicle until the driver of the Volkswagen lost control of the vehicle on Cornwallis Road at Tricenter Boulevard and crashed. The two males in the Volkswagen were treated at the scene by EMS.

The Volkswagen had been reported stolen from Courtney Creek Drive on January 4, 2020. Officers recovered two stolen firearms, U.S. currency and masks from the stolen vehicle.

Investigators charged Clarence Hargett, 28, and Robert Emerson Smith, 25, in connection with the robbery at the Subway. Hargett was also charged with committing an armed robbery at the Subway at 401 East Lakewood Avenue on January 6, 2020.

Durham police investigators charged Hargett with two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and one count of possession of a stolen firearm. Smith was charged with one count of robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of simple assault.

The investigation is still ongoing.