UPDATE: Robbery suspect arraigned

April 24, 2015
Robert Brown

Robert Brown

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

HART — After being on the lam for nearly five days, a 29-year-old Hart man accused of the strong-arm robbery at the Hart Express EZ Mart Sunday night turned himself in to authorities late Thursday afternoon and was arraigned Friday afternoon, April 24, in 78th District Court on two felony counts along fourth-offense habitual offender notification.

Robert Charles Brown, of 3904 N Oceana Dr., has been charged with one count of unarmed robbery, which is a felony punishable by up to 15 years in prison, as well as fourth-degree fleeing and eluding, which carries a two-year maximum penalty. Maximum penalties are increased with habitual offender status.

Brown is currently lodged in the Oceana County Jail on bond amounts of $25,000/10 percent and $10,000/10 percent. A preliminary conference is set for Monday, May 4, at 3 p.m., and a preliminary exam is scheduled for Monday, May 11, at 3 p.m.

Local police spent the last several days searching for Brown, who was at large since the robbery. He had been spotted by police Monday afternoon in the M-20/Oceana Drive area and fled in a vehicle. He was then seen in the Woodrow Road/112th Avenue area and fled on foot. The Lake County K-9 Unit was called in to track him, but the rainfall made tracking difficult.

No one else is being charged in connection to the robbery or Brown’s elusion from authorities, Hart Police Chief Dan Leimback said.

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