Deputies in Patrick County apprehended a fugitive at a store in Patrick Springs.
Patrick County Sheriff Dan Smith said the incident began to unfold when an off duty sheriff’s deputy on Thursday spotted a wanted man sitting in a vehicle at Friendly’s Convenience store in Patrick Springs.
Justin Nicholas Gregory, 26, of 732 Indian Trail, Martinsville, was wanted by Roanoke County authorities in connection with a charge of assault on a law enforcement officer, Smith said. There also were multiple outstanding felony probation violations from Martinsville authorities, he added.
Smith said his office also had received information alleging the man was involved in multiple robberies and had threatened to shoot law enforcement officers if approached.
When officers arrived on scene and approached the vehicle Thursday, the man allegedly refused commands to exit the vehicle and locked the doors, Smith said.
At that point, Patrick County Sheriff’s Capt. Rob Coleman and deputy Ronnie Williams broke out both front windows, Smith said.
The man then was extracted from the vehicle at gunpoint and immediately taken into custody, according to Smith.
“With the information we had, we knew that Gregory had to be kept contained inside of the vehicle in order to not be a danger to civilians inside the store, and we knew that we had to quickly overwhelm him with force to prevent him from engaging us with gunfire,” Smith said.
A loaded .40 Caliber pistol allegedly was recovered from the man’s waistband, and a second loaded firearm was recovered from inside the vehicle along with a large amount of methamphetamine, digital scales, a mask, and more than $1,000 in U.S. currency, Smith said.
Gregory is being held without bond in the Patrick County Jail, according to Smith.
“This incident could have easily turned deadly, having well trained deputies to expeditiously apprehend dangerous fugitives is critical, and we are fortunate to have that in our county,” Smith said.
Deputy Oscar Tejeda is continuing the investigation and additional charges are pending, Smith said.