Amarilloan involved in I-40 melee charged in armed robbery

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Authorities charged an Amarillo man Friday with aggravated assault and aggravated robbery, a week after he was hospitalized following an armed robbery at a shoe store and an attempted pawn shop holdu…

Authorities charged an Amarillo man Friday with aggravated assault and aggravated robbery, a week after he was hospitalized following an armed robbery at a shoe store and an attempted pawn shop holdup.

Jarrod Dale Brown, 41, was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated robbery after he was released from an Amarillo hospital, police said.

Brown was hospitalized last week after he tried to elude Amarillo police and was launched off the hood of an Amarillo woman's car when a tractor-trailer struck her vehicle as Brown pointed a BB pistol at her, police said.

About 10:17 a.m. Aug. 26, officers responded to an armed robbery call at the Payless Shoe Source at Grand Plaza, 3300 E. Interstate 40.

Police said a white man approached the clerk and raised his shirt to show a gun, police said.

He demanded money, and the clerk filled a bank bag with an undisclosed amount of cash, Amarillo police Cpl. Jerry Neufeld said.

The suspect walked the clerk to the back of the store at gunpoint, police said. He fled the store on foot and went to Cash America Pawn, 3610 E. I-40.

Two investigators from the Potter County Attorney's Office, who were at the pawn shop on business, saw an armed suspect enter the store, drew their weapons and tried to arrest him, police said.

The gunman pointed his gun at the investigators, but the officers didn't fire due to concern for nearby patrons, and the suspect fled, police said.

The man fled down an I-40 embankment, pointed a BB gun at a woman in traffic and was catapulted off the woman's car when a tractor-trailer struck the vehicle, sending him to the pavement.

Brown has nine previous arrests and convictions for felony theft, misdemeanor theft and driving while intoxicated, according to Texas Department of Public Safety records.

As of Friday night, officials had not set bail for Brown, who is being held in the Potter County Detention Center.