**UPDATED** Authorities Apprehend One of Two Armed Robbers

By Will Johnson

Messenger Reporter

CROCKETT – The Crockett Police Department arrested a suspect in the Crockett Brookshire Brothers robbery which occurred on Dec.12.

Darrell Lynel Horace, 23, was arrested Tuesday, Dec. 20 and booked into the Houston County Jail on one count of aggravated robbery. His accomplice in the grocery store robbery is still at-large, but has been identified as 28-year-old James Anthony Mitchell.

“Witness identification and (with) help from witnesses out in the community, Crockett Police Department detectives were able to obtain arrest warrants for the two suspects,” CPD Lt. Clayton Smith stated.

“Mitchell now has a few additional charges for his involvement in an unrelated case involving the theft of a vehicle which later ended in an arson,” Smith said.

Combined with the first degree felony warrant for aggravated robbery, Mitchell now has a second degree felony warrant issued for his arrest on the crime of arson as well as a third degree felony theft warrant, according to Smith.

He added while Mitchell’s location is currently unknown, it is believed he has ties to the Palestine and Jacksonville areas.

“Mitchell should be considered armed and dangerous and if you come in contact with Mitchell call law enforcement immediately,” Smith stated.

As previously reported in the Dec. 15 edition of The Messenger, at approximately 8 p.m. on Dec. 12, two male subjects, now identified as Horace and Mitchell, entered the Brookshire Brothers store located in the 400 block of North Fourth Street in Crockett.

“The suspects were in the store for a short time, casing the store out, before approaching the cashier and holding her at gun point,” Smith reported in a statement issued on Dec. 13.

In the original crime, Smith indicated the suspects directed the cashier to take them to the office. A second store employee working in the office noticed her co-worker was being held at gunpoint, opened the door to the office and allowed them in inside.

“The suspects ordered the two staff members to the floor at gunpoint while making threats to kill them. Once all the money was gathered into a bag, the suspects then walked out the front of the store and headed to Third Street. The exact amount of cash at this time is undetermined, however, it is believed to be a substantial amount,” Smith said.

If you have any information on the whereabouts of Mitchell, please contact Deep East Texas Crime Stoppers at 936-639-TIPS (8477) or the Crockett Police Department at 936-544-2021.

The aggravated robbery charge is considered a first degree felony under the Texas Penal Code. According to Section 12.32 of the penal code, “An individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree shall be punished by imprisonment in the institutional division for life or for any term of not more than 99 years or less than five years. In addition to imprisonment, an individual adjudged guilty of a felony of the first degree may be punished by a fine not to exceed $10,000.”

Horace is being held at the Houston County Jail on a bond of $250,000.

Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].

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