Tuesday, September 4 - Authorities Searching For Armed Wal-Mart Robbers

BERLIN - Area law enforcement agencies are still searching for two of the three suspects who held up a cashier at knife point at Wal-Mart in Berlin late Monday night after nabbing one suspect following a wild high-speed chase across northern Worcester County.

Shortly after 11 p.m. on Monday, Maryland State Police from the Berlin barrack responded to a reported armed robbery at Wal-Mart on Route 50 just east of Berlin. Three unidentified men entered the store and robbed a cashier at knifepoint. The cashier was not harmed in the incident.

Witnesses called the state police with a description of a vehicle involved and the direction it headed, and one private citizen followed behind in an effort to keep the suspect vehicle in sight before losing it near the Maryland/Delaware line as various law enforcement agencies converged on the area. A Worcester County Sheriff's Deputy located the suspect vehicle as it turned on Route 610 and headed west on Route 346 at a high rate of speed.

The deputy lost sight of the vehicle when it turned off its lights while traveling an estimated 130 mph. The suspect vehicle was found in Willards in Wicomico County after it turned into a private driveway and the occupants fled on foot. A perimeter was established involving Maryland State Police from both the Berlin and Salisbury barracks, Worcester and Wicomico County Sheriff's Departments, Maryland State Police aviation and Natural Resources Police.

One of the suspects was apprehended by a Wicomico County sheriff's deputy on the perimeter at Route 346 and Bent Pine Rd. The search continues for the other two suspects and is being conducted by the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI). Other police units assisting with the search included the Berlin and Selbyville Police Departments.

For the complete story including updates on the search, see The Dispatch on Friday.