laurel hill youth charged with armed robbery

Robert Gage Cadenhead, age 17, of Laurel Hill, will be charged as an adult for the armed robbery of the Penny Mart in Lockhart, AL.  On April 22, 2008, Cadenhead entered the Penny Mart wearing a mask and armed with a gun and demanded the clerk put all the money in the register into a bag.  Once he had the money, Cadenhead fled the scene on foot and ran towards Chippewa Street in Lockhart.  A lady leaving her aunt and uncle's house saw Cadenhead run from the store removing the mask and attempting to hide the firearm and flipped her car around and pursued Cadenhead until he ran behind a group of houses.  Once she saw the direction of his travel she went back to the store and reported to authorities his direction of travel and verified that he had a weapon when she spotted him running from the scene.  Law enforcement officers arrived on scene within three minutes of the 911 call with agencies from throughout Covington County converging on the small quiet town to locate and apprehend the armed man.  A Florala Police Officer chased the suspect into a wooded area and secured the perimeter until a K-9 unit from the Covington County Sheriff's Department arrived and Covington County Sheriff's Deputy Vernon Cowart and K-9 handler Chad Clarke and his partner Tracker were able to locate the suspect hiding in a fiberglass grain silo behind the Zorn Brothers fertilizer plant. After the suspect was apprehended by law enforcement officials authorities also discovered a gym bag containing a pellet gun belonging to the suspect.  Cadenhead also allegedly admitted he was the suspect that robbed the Paxton Tom Thumb with a gun several weekends ago.  Cadenhead is being charged as an adult and will face charges in Walton County Florida after Alabama finishes with him.  His take from the Tom Thumb in Paxton was around $200 and he got $305 from the Penny Mart, which was recovered. Lockhart Police Chief Tim Hardage expressed his sincere appreciation for all the assistance other agencies provided in quickly apprehended the suspect. Those agencies assisting in the manhunt were the Covington County Sheriff's Department, Florala Police Department, Covington County Sheriff's Possee, Walton County Sheriff's Department and the Hartford Police Department.