FROM STAFF REPORTS

Three juveniles have been apprehended and detained in connection with the robbery of a Statesville grocery store following a multi-agency investigation.

The Statesville Police Department announced Thursday that two 16-year-olds and one 17-year-old were in custody.

After the robbery at the Food Lion located at 1650 E. Broad Street on Wednesday morning, SPD investigators received information that a vehicle used in a series of break-ins in Mooresville had been spotted at a residence at 440 Charles Street in Statesville, police said.

SPD personnel executed a search warrant at the Charles Street residence and found evidence linking the suspects to a series of break-ins of businesses in Statesville, according to the news release.

During interviews conducted with individuals at the Charles Street residence, investigators identified one of the suspects involved in the robbery of the Statesville Food Lion, police said.

Later Wednesday, the SPD was informed that the vehicle used in the Food Lion robbery had been stopped by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department following a brief vehicle pursuit, according to the news release.

Three suspects were apprehended by CMPD officers. They were traveling in a 2018 Hyundai Elantra that had been reported stolen during a breaking and entering at a Dunkin Donuts in Troutman in late December, police said.

Statesville and Mooresville investigators traveled to Charlotte to interview the three suspects.

The three juveniles were positively linked to the robbery at Food Lion based on the clothing they were wearing at the time of the incident, according to the news release. During questioning, one of the suspects confessed to being involved in 10 restaurant break-ins in Statesville as well as 10 similar incidents in Mooresville, police said. This crime spree spanned from December 24 to January 3.

The Department of Juvenile Justice was contacted, and secure custody orders were obtained for all three juveniles.

The juveniles were transported to the Alexander County Juvenile Detention Center, where they await judicial proceedings. Two of the juveniles are from Charlotte and one is from Statesville, police said.

The Statesville Police Department expressed its gratitude to the Mooresville Police Department, Troutman Police Department, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department for their assistance in this investigation.

Additional charges against the three juveniles may be pending in other jurisdictions.