ClarksvilleNow.com Reporting
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CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Thanks to the collaboration of witnesses and officers, the Clarksville Police Department was able to successfully apprehend a robbery suspect recently in Clarksville.
According to a release from Officer Natalie Hall, police responded to a silent alarm Feb. 12 around 6:52 p.m. at Rony’s Smoke Shop on N. Second St.
The store owner and another victim told Officer J. Smith they had been held at gunpoint with a shotgun while the suspect demanded money from the cash register. The second victim said the suspect took $15 from him. He left the business with over $400 and an undetermined amount of Newport cigarettes.
The witnesses described the suspect as a black man with facial hair between 5’9” to 5’11”, wearing a mask and dark clothing.
The store owner ran after the suspect but was unable to catch him.
While searching for the man, Officer Walden was told by another witness that while she was driving on Jefferson St., she saw a tall black man behind Kelly’s Big Burger changing his pants. She said she saw him wearing a black hoodie and carrying a backpack.
Officer Edwards saw the suspect, Shonquiel Fields, wearing the same clothing with red and white striped pants at the Greyhound Bus Station. Shortly after, Officer Edwards observed the same man at Kelly’s Big Burger.
Another witness told police she saw Fields walk into the restaurant’s bathroom with the backpack, but did not have it when he exited. Officer Walden found the backpack in the bathroom with Newport cigarettes inside.
Officer Jones and police service dog Koda searched the area and found a sawed-off shotgun on 111 Womack St.
Fields was arrested, interviewed by Detective Bramel, and booked into the Montgomery County Jail. He was charged with robbery and using a firearm during
the commission of a felony.
Joseph Watkins, who served as the lookout, was booked into the Montgomery County Jail and charged with criminal responsibility for conduct of another.
Officer Hall credits the teamwork between police and witnesses along with video surveillance for the apprehension of the suspect.
See the video surveillance below: