PIERCETON - Two Elkhart men suspected in a string of robberies in Kosciusko County were arrested in Pierceton Saturday afternoon.
Darius Antonio Taylor, 21, Bowen Street, Elkhart, and Jay Baron Stokes, 25, Brookstream Circle, Goshen, were arrested Saturday afternoon on charges of armed robbery, a Class B felony. No bond was set for either man.
Around 8:03 a.m. Saturday, the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Department received a call from a Pierceton business about two suspicious black men near the intersection of Second and Catholic streets.When Kosciusko County Sheriff's Deputy Rick Shepherd arrived, he found the men walking down an alley near the Pierceton branch of Lake City Bank.
When the men were questioned, they gave officers permission to search their blue Chevrolet Impala. Bullets, cash and rolled coins, backpacks and clothing that matched items used in the armed robberies reportedly were found. One suspect also reportedly had a garbage bag in his front pocket.
When officers searched the area around the car, they found two handguns at the edge of the alley where the men were found.
One of the guns is believed to have been used in the robberies, and the other, a .38 caliber revolver, was believed to have been stolen during a robbery attempt at Leesburg Liquors Friday night.
The men were taken to the Kosciusko County Jail and interviewed. During the interviews, one of the men allegedly confessed to his involvement in the three robberies.
Friday night the Indiana State Police investigated an attempted robbery at Leesburg Liquors on Ind. 15 at the south edge of Leesburg.
Friday evening, two black men dressed in dark clothing entered Leesburg Liquors and locked the door behind them.
The men reportedly told an employee of the store to get down on the floor and one of the men started rifling through the cash register.
A manager in the back of the store saw the men on video surveillance and sounded an alarm.
The men then exited the store, one through the back door and one through the front door. The gun was the only item taken during the incident.
The men are suspects in the March 16 armed robbery of Low Bob's Tobacco, 702 N. Detroit St., Warsaw.
In that robbery, two men wearing dark clothes and ski masks reportedly entered the store, displayed a handgun and demanded money.
Once the store employee gave the men the money, the suspects fled on foot. The men reportedly got into a blue car after running from the store.
On the morning of March 20, the Milford Party Pack was robbed at gunpoint by two suspects matching the description of the suspects in the Low Bob's robbery in Warsaw.
The men, dressed in ski masks and dark clothing, entered the Milford Party Pack at 314 N. Higbee St., brandished a gun and demanded money from the safe.
After getting the money, the suspects fled the scene on foot then got into a brown vehicle.
The incidents remain under investigation, and more charges are possible.
