Local Gas Station Robbed by Gunman

By Joel Frady

The Ashe County Sheriff's Department is looking for leads after the armed robbery of a local convenience

station. According to Sheriff James Williams, the Run-In station located at 10703 N.C. Highway 163 in West Jefferson, at the intersection of 163 and Highway 16, was robbed at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16.

Williams said that the suspect was a slender white male who was approximately six feet tall. The suspect was wearing jeans, a gray hoodie with the hood up and a rebel flag bandana that covered his mouth and nose.
"He entered the store with a weapon, handed the teller a bag and told her to put all the money in the bag," Williams said. "Other than that, there was no conversation."

Carie Osborne, the manager of the Run-In, said that it's the first armed robbery to occur at the store, although the store is no stranger to crime - the store reported five breaking-and-entering cases in a three-month span this fall.

Osborne said that she received a phone call shortly after the armed robbery from the female employee who worked at the station that night. The clerk had first called the Sheriff's Department at 8:37 p.m. before she called Osborne.

According to Osborne, the clerk was restocking drinks when the suspect entered the store.

"She heard the bells on the door, but she didn't think anything of it," said Osborne. "She heard the gun cock, and that's what got her attention.

"She looked over there and he was handing her a bag and asking her to put money in it," she continued. "She came back up here, and he stayed back there the whole time with the gun. He never pointed it at her or stuck it on her or anything. He stayed back there and he told her not to push any buttons."

Once the clerk filled the bag, the gunman fled the scene with an undisclosed amount of money. Osborne said that the store clerk has since resigned, and that the incident "scared her. It scared her really bad."

She noted that, between the robbery and the break-ins, the atmosphere around the store is fairly tense.

"It's pretty scary," she said. "It's pretty scary for my workers, and I probably won't be able to find anybody else to work."

Williams said that the store's phone lines had been "jerked loose" in the back of the building, and that the store's video tape surveillance system was off line and not working at the time of the robbery.

"We were most distressed to find that out," said Williams.

As of Monday afternoon, no arrests have been made in the case. Williams said that the investigation is ongoing, and that the Sheriff's Department is looking for anyone with information about the armed robbery.

Anyone with information pertaining to the armed robbery can call the Ashe County Sheriff's Department directly at (336) 846-5600, or contact the Crime Stoppers line at (336) 846-4188.