A joint city-county effort led to the Wednesday arrest of a Maben man in connection with a recent gas station armed robbery.
Brian Buford, 29, of 1135 Sturgis-Maben Road, was arrested by Starkville Police Department with the assistance of the Oktibbeha County Sheriff’s Department, SPD officials confirmed Thursday. Buford was arrested without incident, a release states, and his bond was set at $100,000. Buford was then transported to the Oktibbeha County Jail.
A suspect was captured on film entering the Shell gas station, located at the corner of Mississippi Highway 12 and Jackson Street, on May 13. According to a prior SPD release, eye witnesses stated the suspect possessed a concealed firearm in his right sleeve. The robber demanded money and fled the scene to the east by foot.
Two days after the robbery, SPD released still images and a video captured by Shell surveillance cameras to local media outlets. Officials said tips from the community led to Buford’s arrest.
SPD Chief David Lindley said officers are still investigating a May 16 armed robbery at Cash Till, located at 1011 Louisville St.
A masked male suspect entered the business and demanded money from an employee that day around 2:15 p.m. The worker sounded an alarm, and the suspect aborted the robbery attempt. He fled on foot toward the wooded area behind the business, a release confirmed.
SPD set up a perimeter shortly after the robbery was reported but could not locate the suspect. He is not believed to have been armed, Lindley said last week.
Due to the proximity of the situation, Starkville School District officials locked down Starkville High School as a precaution while police searched for the suspect. Neither the school nor its students faced any direct threat, SSD Public Information Officer Nicole Thomas said.
The attempted Cash Till robbery was also captured by surveillance cameras. The robber was last seen wearing blue jeans; a blue, plaid jacket with a white, square-shaped emblem on the upper-right chest; white tennis shoes; and white gloves with exposed fingers.
To report any information on this robbery or any other crime, please call SPD at 662-323-4131 or Golden Triangle Crime Stoppers at 800-530-7151.
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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