Transient Arrested On Attempted Robbery

A man was arrested March 30 after he robbed a service station, demanding beer, snacks and $20.

A man was standing in the parking lot of the Chevron station at Fourth and Maple about 1:15 a.m. when a clerk noticed him, according to police spokesman Dick Cottam.

The clerk said the man walked to the pay window and asked to come into the locked store. The clerk refused and said the man showed him a pistol in his waistband.

He asked for two cans of beer, potato chips and cash, the clerk said. The clerk passed the items to the robber through the window.

A witness called police during the exchange, and officers arrested Joseph Walter Thomas, 19.

Thomas, a transient, was booked into jail on suspicion of first-degree robbery. The pistol proved to be a pellet gun, said Cottam.

Officers respond to shots fired

A man who told police he was on his porch to stargaze was arrested Tuesday after officers discovered illegal firearms in his home.

Officers responding to complaints of shots fired found Larry D. Thomas, 26, standing barefoot on the front porch of a home in the 3700 block of East First Avenue about 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Thomas claimed he was simply looking at a star, but officers saw weapons inside the front door of the house and bullet holes in the house’s front exterior.

Thomas said someone had driven by and shot at his home moments earlier.

Police found two loaded handguns, a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition in the house, Cottam said. A check revealed Thomas had convictions in California and officers arrested him for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Thomas was also booked on suspicion of possession of stolen property after officers found one of the guns had been reported stolen.

There were no injuries reported from the alleged drive-by shooting.