Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV

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August 24, 2011

Woman arrested in connection with convenience store robbery

JAMIE PARSELL Bluefield Daily Telegraph

BRAMWELL — A McDowell County woman has been arrested in connection with a robbery at a Bramwell convenience store that left her accomplice and husband dead.

According to Mercer County Sheriff Don Meadows, David Douglas Roberts, 41, of Crumpler, entered the Pop Shop wearing a mask and armed with a shotgun. After a confrontation, he was shot multiple times by a Mercer County customer carrying an automatic pistol.

His wife, Jessica Persianni Roberts, 31, waited in the parking lot, Meadows said. The alleged robber was shot inside the store, but ran outside where he dropped the money.

“We believe the wife picked up an unknown amount of money,” Meadows said.

She fled the scene in a Lincoln Navigator.

Jessica Roberts was arrested Tuesday morning in Maybeury and charged with conspiracy and attempted robbery. She could also face a felony murder charge, Meadows said

The customer, whose name has not been released, had a concealed weapons permit. He will not be charged in the incident, Meadows said.

“He felt like the guy was going to shoot him and the clerk,” Meadows said. “He felt threatened and he took the action he thought was necessary.”

David Roberts died early Tuesday morning en route to Bluefield Regional Medical Center. Jessica Roberts was arraigned in Mercer County Tuesday afternoon and bond was set at $100,000. She is currently incarcerated at the Southern Regional Jail.

Both the West Virginia State Police and the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene. Mercer County Sheriff Deputy J.D. Gills investigated the case.

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