Two Columbus juveniles were arrested and charged as adults with armed robbery Sunday.
Dontae Moody, 13, of 141 Poplar St., and Anfrenee Shemar Rice, 14, of 504 Cypress St., were arrested Sunday for attempting to hold up the Military Quick Stop at 702 Military Road around 10 a.m.
The Columbus Police Department reports the juveniles brandished a handgun and demanded money from the cashier. A customer in the store yelled at the boys “Hey, don”t do that,” at which time they fled the store.
Hours later, at 6:51 p.m., a uniformed officer was in the store taking reports from store employees when the juveniles returned to the store for unknown reasons. The officer recognized the boys from the store”s surveillance footage and arrested them on the spot.
The youths were charged with armed robbery and their bonds set at $2,500 each. They are scheduled to appear in court June 17.
Both children are Columbus Municipal School District students. At the conclusion of the school year one student was enrolled in alternative school and another was enrolled at Hunt Intermediate School.
The CPD reports the gun used in the crime was not stolen but was taken from one of the children”s homes.
Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem, who has seen a rash of gun violence recently in his ward incluing two fatal shootings, said the attempted robbery was a “sad commentary.”
“We have a gun problem here in Columbus. These are babies, 13 and 14 years old. My heart and prayers go out not only to the victims but to the children,” he said.
Karriem will be participating in a community-wide crime prevention meeting June 10 at the Columbus Municipal Complex being spearheaded by Lowndes County District 5 Supervisor Leroy Brooks.
Brooks hopes to have Daniel Kellar, executive director of the American Crime Prevention Institute in Louisville, Ky., present at the meeting but says Kellar may not be able to attend. However, he says Kellar has committed to return at a later date and conduct a three-day crime prevention seminar.
Karriem hopes Kellar can help the community institute its own long-term crime prevention strategy, but says cooperation with the CPD is crucial.
“There is no quick fix. We want to be able to work with the police department and also to know what direction (Chief Joseph St. John) is going to go in. As a council we”re waiting to see what he”s going to do. We”ve been calling for a small task force (to address violent crime), said Karriem.
The community meeting will take place at 6 p.m. and “mass participation” is requested.
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