Three arrested in armed robbery of Stilesville Dollar General

STILESVILLE -- The new Dollar General Store in Stilesville, just 10 days removed from its grand opening, was the scene of an armed robbery Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred about 4:30 p.m. at the new store at 5745 W. U.S. 40 in Stilesville, the small western Hendricks County community of 316 people.

Initial dispatches indicated the robbers had fled westbound on U.S. 40 toward Putnam County.

However, a short time later, three Indianapolis suspects were in custody after their arrest in Plainfield.

Hendricks County Sheriff's Department officials said Kurtland Moore, 32, and Richard Martin, 18, allegedly robbed the Stilesville store, while a third suspect, Renia Martin-Harris, 22, reportedly remained in the car.

A Dollar General manager said he was stocking shelves when the two men entered the store on the south side of U.S. 40, east of the Stilesville stoplight.

Moore reportedly stayed near the front doors, while Martin told the manager he had a gun and that they were there to rob him.

After the manager gave the suspects an undisclosed amount of cash, they left the store. Witnesses gave police a description of the suspects.

A short time later, Plainfield Police Officers Aaron Teale and Javier Casas spotted a vehicle on U.S. 40 and observed suspicious activity by the occupants.

When they pulled behind the suspect vehicle, they saw a fur-lined hood worn by one of the occupants that matched a description provided by the robbery victim.

While police first tried to stop the car for a window tint violation, the driver initially failed to stop. Eventually, however, the car was pulled over, the sheriff's department said.

The Dollar General manager was able to make positive identification of the suspects, the sheriff's department said.

Officers also determined that Martin-Harris, the third person in the car when it was stopped, was also in the vehicle during the Stilesville incident.

All three suspects were preliminarily charged with robbery and theft and were lodged in the Hendricks County Jail at Danville.

Dollar General recently opened the new store, the first chain store in Stilesville, and hosted a grand opening celebration on Dec. 17.