Two Men Arrested After Fleeing From Armed Robbery On Lea Avenue

Two young men, both known to the MNPD when they were juveniles, were arrested last night by Central Precinct officers after they fled from an armed robbery on Lea Avenue. The two victims were riding their scooters on Lea Avenue near Rutledge Street when they were allegedly approached by the two suspects, later identified as Marquise Deon Johnson, 19, and Marlow Spencer, 18, who demanded their scooters at gunpoint.

Officers quickly located the two suspects riding scooters down Shelby Avenue where they proceeded to dump the scooters and run. Both were taken into custody after a brief foot chase.

A vehicle programmer, window punch tool and marijuana were recovered from Spencer. A loaded Glock pistol, equipped with a switch to make it fully automatic, was also recovered in Spencer’s immediate flight path.

Staff from the gas station on Shelby Avenue near where the arrest took place told officers the two had just stolen several items, which were recovered from Johnson.

Johnson, who was convicted of aggravated robbery as a 16-year-old, was arrested on January 5th by Central Precinct officers on eight charges, including four counts of vehicle burglary, after multiple cars were broken into at a parking lot on Division Street.

Johnson was charged last night with two counts of aggravated robbery, theft and evading arrest. He is currently jailed in lieu of $204,000 bond.

Spencer was arrested on January 31 by Violent Crimes Division detectives after he fled from a BMW X3 that had been recently stolen in an armed carjacking. He was charged with vehicle theft, evidence tampering and possession of cocaine. He was out on $20,000 bond at the time of last night’s arrest.

Spencer was charged last night with two counts of aggravated robbery, possession of burglary tools, possession of key fob programming equipment, marijuana possession, felony weapon possession, resisting arrest, and evading arrest. He is currently jailed in lieu of $130,000 bond.

Continued investigation this morning by Robbery Unit detectives has also led to both men being charged with one count of robbery from a February 5 incident where three suspects stole a victim’s phone and wallet on Broadway.