BY KEITH EPPS
A suspected armed robber was taken into custody last night after leading police on a three-hour pursuit through woods and water, city police said.
Rodney Quinn, 19, has been charged in the city in connection with the armed robbery yesterday at the Floor Shop at 2103 Jefferson Davis Highway. He also was charged in Friday's armed robbery Friday at the Dunning Mills Inn near the Floor Shop. In addition to these two charges, he was charged with two counts of using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Quinn also is suspected in four recent robberies in Spotsylvania.
After yesterday's lengthy pursuit, Quinn was apprehended near the Dunkin' Donuts on Salem Church Road in Spotsylvania shortly after 5 p.m. Police spokeswoman Natatia Bledsoe said the man used to live in the Townsend Square apartment complex, in the same area of the city robberies.
According to police, a female employee of the Floor Shop was confronted about 2:18 p.m. yesterday by a man with a gun. He took an undisclosed amount of money and left. The victim got a good clothing description and called police.
Bledsoe said the first city officer was on the scene three minutes later and four nearby schools--Fredericksburg Christian, Sonshine Daycare, Walker- Grant Middle School and Lafayette Upper Elementary--were immediately put on lockdown. The same schools were locked down following Friday's robbery. Bledsoe said the schools were dismissed shortly after their normal times yesterday with officers stationed on hand.
A city officer spotted the suspect running through the woods shortly after the call came in. Numerous officers, including Spotsylvania and Stafford deputies and state police, participated in the subsequent search, along with a state police helicopter and dogs.
Bledsoe said the suspect basically followed a trail along Hazel Run while trying to escape. The path led him behind Fredericksburg Chris-tian School, along Kingwood subdivision in Spotsylvania and Idlewild in the city. He was spotted several times by police and by residents. A Kingswood resident called police after seeing the suspect and followed him for a while, Bledsoe said. The suspect fell into water a couple of times and was seen discarding his shirt at one point. He apparently also ditched the gun at some point, police said.
Bledsoe said the public was particularly helpful in providing confirmed locations of the suspect, who ended up shirtless in the Salem Run division area in Spotsylvania.
Keith Epps: 540/374-5404
Email: kepps@freelancestar.com