Man arrested for 7-Eleven beer robbery

Spokane police on patrol early today spotted a maroon Dodge Neon believed to have been used in a robbery nearly six hours earlier and arrested two persons, one in connection with the robbery, through the tracking efforts of a police dog. Shane A. Lemmons, 26, was found hiding under a trailer after he fled from the car at Ninth Avenue and Ivory Street, about a mile from the robbery, about 3 a.m. He was booked on a charge of first-degree robbery and eluding police. The episode began about 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday when two men tried to rob a clerk at a 7-Eleven store at 1317 S. Grand Blvd. of two 18-packs of beer. The clerk was outside talking with a friend when the robbers tried to flee with the beer, police said. The clerk tried to stop them, which triggered a fight, and in the process, one of the suspects had the hood ripped from his sweatshirt. The clerk and friend backed away from the fight while the two robbers departed with one of the beer packs. When the clerk tried to get a photo of the vehicle license plate, one of the robbers pointed a handgun at him, so he backed off. At 3 a.m., a patrol officer spotted a Neon matching the description of the getaway vehicle and followed it for two blocks before the driver got out and ran. Police K9 Leonitis a short time later tracked the man to the trailer while police surrounded the area. The multi-colored sweatshirt Lemmons was wearing was missing its hood, police said. Police also arrested Nichole L. Roemer, 30, a passenger in the Neon, on an arrest warrant.