Teen charged with armed robbery for February incident

COLUMBIA — A teen has been charged with first-degree robbery and armed criminal action in connection to a Feb. 28 incident at a south Columbia apartment complex.

Germion Forrest, 16, was arrested March 1 on suspicion of stealing the purse of a 23-year-old woman outside her home at Forest Village Apartments as part of a hold-up. Police say he was armed with a shotgun. He has been certified to be tried as an adult, Public Information Officer Jessie Haden said Tuesday.

The woman said she was returning home from the grocery store at about 7:20 p.m. when two men with guns took her purse. When the victim's boyfriend followed the men to the nearby Fireside Apartments, they fled with a third man, police said. Columbia police have not yet arrested the other two suspects, Haden said.

Police later towed a gray 2004 Chevrolet Monte Carlo from Fireside Apartments after police found a stolen Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun and ammunition inside, the statement said. The victim's bag was also in the car.

Columbia police were led to Forrest when the Monte Carlo's owner later came to the police station, the statement said. The owner said Forrest had borrowed the car, but told her it was stolen, according to the statement.

The victim described the second suspect as a dark-skinned black male in his late teens, approximately 5 feet, 5 inches tall and weighing 130 pounds, according to a previous Missourian article. She was unable to describe the third suspect.

The robbery is not connected to the shooting at Fireside Apartments on Friday afternoon, Haden said.