COLUMBIA — On Friday police arrested a Columbia man they think was involved in the robberies of a Taco Bell earlier this month and a Break Time convenience store more than a year ago, according to a Columbia Police Department news release.
On Friday, Rodney E. McCray, 40, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of first-degree robbery, according to the release. As of 7:30 p.m. Saturday, McCray was being held at the Boone County Jail. His bond is set at $500,000.
At about 1:55 a.m. on April 12, a man in a white, four-door vehicle pulled up to the drive-through window of the Taco Bell at 1100 Smiley Lane and pointed a handgun at a 23-year-old employee. The employee backed away from the window, and the suspect left the scene. No injuries or shots were reported and nothing was stolen, according to previous Missourian reports.
The suspect’s vehicle was identified as the one from video surveillance recorded at the time of robbery at the Taco Bell. Using evidence seized and the video, police were led to identify McCray as a suspect.
Video surveillance also led officers to identify him as a suspect in a March 15, 2008, robbery of a Columbia Break Time convenience store.
The robbery took place at 4:42 a.m. when a man, described by police as 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds and wearing a black jacket and tan ball cap, entered and robbed the store at gunpoint.
The Major Crimes Unit investigation is ongoing at this time.
Anyone with information is requested to submit their tip to the Crimestoppers Web site, 875tips.com.