A mental exam was ordered at a pretrial hearing Tuesday for a man accused of robbing a Texarkana, Ark., Metro PCS store at gunpoint hours before he tried to pay a bill at a Metro PCS in Texarkana, Texas, last month.
Rolston Lockett Jr., 26, appeared with Kerry Woods of the public defender’s office before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones on charges of aggravated robbery and possession of a firearm by a felon. Jones granted a request for Lockett to undergo an evaluation to determine his competency and criminal responsibility. Lockett faces 10 to 40 years or life if convicted of aggravated robbery and five to 20 years if found guilty of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Lockett entered the East Street location of Metro PCS in Texarkana, Ark., on July 24 at about 5:25 p.m. but left without completing a transaction. Lockett allegedly returned about 20 minutes later with a handgun and left with $402 in cash. Surveillance footage of the robbery, which captured video and audio, was used by investigators to identify Lockett as a suspect. Store employees showed officers photos of a man, identified as Lockett, on Facebook the following day they claim to be the man that robbed them.
Texarkana, Ark., investigators learned the day after the robbery of contact between Lockett and Texarkana, Texas, police which occurred shortly before 9 p.m. July 24, just several hours following the Arkansas-side hold-up. Texas-side police responded to a parking lot on Richmond Road in Texarkana, Texas, where a Metro PCS store is located, in response to a disturbance.
Lockett allegedly told the Texas officers he and his girlfriend were at the Texas store to pay their phone bill. Texarkana, Texas, police officers patted Lockett down during their contact with him and the incident was captured on an officer’s body camera. One of the Texas officers told Arkansas-side investigators that he noticed Lockett’s wallet was bulging with cash.
Video from the robbery and from Lockett’s contact with Texas-side police were compared and a warrant for Lockett’s arrest soon followed. Lockett was allegedly wearing the same clothing and shoes in the video of the Arkansas-side robbery as in the video of his interaction with Texas-side police. Investigators acquired a search warrant for a motel room where Lockett was staying on State Line Avenue and items seen in both videos, including the gun and clothing worn by the robber, were allegedly recovered.
Lockett is being held in the Miller County jail with bail set at $100,000.
