LINCOLNTON, N.C. — A Kings Mountain man is in jail after police said he pistol-whipped a Lincolnton cellphone store employee during an armed robbery last weekend.
Lincolnton Police responded to a reported armed robbery at the SEA Wireless store on Riverside Drive a little after 1:30 p.m. Saturday. When police arrived, the clerk told them three men entered the store when one of the suspects pulled out a handgun and hit him in the head several times.
Surveillance video allowed detectives to identify the primary suspect as 34-year-old Mark Jonathan McDowell. McDowell was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon, felony larceny, conspiracy to commit felony larceny, assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and possession of stolen property. He was arrested in Cleveland County and transported to Lincoln County, where he’s being held under an $80,000 bond.
The other two suspects involved have not been identified. Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers 704-736-8909. A $1,000 reward is being offered if the information given to detectives leads to an arrest.
