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Durham Police Arrest 3 for Armed Robbery

Durham police arrested two men they believe were partners in several armed robberies over the past month. A third man was charged in one robbery.

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DURHAM, N.C. — Durham police arrested two men they believe were partners in several armed robberies over the past month. A third man was charged in one robbery.

Officers arrested Marques Barr, 22, and Michael Stanback, 23, at their home at 1309 Hudson Ave. Investigators believe the two committed robberies in the Lednum Street and South LaSalle Street areas.

Michael McMannus, 19, of Murphy School Road, was charged with common-law robbery for allegedly helping Barr and Stanback assault and rob a man in a parking lot at 311 S. LaSalle St. on Jan. 11.

Police believe Barr and Stanback together committed two crimes in the 2300 block of Lednum Street on Jan. 28 and 29.

In the first incident, two men armed with a shot gun robbed a person of cash and a cell phone. In the second, two armed men attacked and threw a person to the ground during an attempted robbery.

Barr was also charged in three more incidents:

  • Jan. 23, 2303 Lednum St. – A 2001 Ford Explorer was stolen from the parking lot. The Explorer was running and unattended when it was taken.
  • Jan. 23, the Royal Inn, 3454 Hillsborough Road – A man kicked in a motel room door and took the victims’ wallets.
  • Jan. 30, 2306 Lednum St. – A man armed with a shotgun forced the victim into his apartment and stole his wallet.

Barr was being held on a $250,000 bond, Stanback on $125,000, and McMannus on $15,000.

During January, Durham police dealt with a rash of more than 70 robberies, including one that ended in the killing of Abhijit Mahato, a Duke University graduate student. A string of robberies also targeted Hispanic people, police believe.

Police offered these crime-prevention tips.

Stephen Lavance Oates Jr., 19,  were charged in Mahato's death. Oates and William Dozia Smith, 20, were also charged in nearly 20 other robberies. Police said they did not believe those two alone were responsible for the entire rash of robberies in Durham.

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