'Kangaroo bandit' suspect charged in several hold-ups

Fayetteville, N.C. — A Fayetteville man suspected in more than a dozen convenience store robberies was charged Monday in six hold-ups, authorities said.

Anthony Dean Pierce, 52, of 147 Rosebud Drive, was charged with six counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon. The charges stem from April 22 robberies of Kangaroo stores on Pamalee Drive and Ramsey Street, a May 13 robbery of the Pamalee Drive store, a May 15 robbery of a Sunoco station on Yadkin Road and May 20 robberies of Kangaroo stores on North Bragg Boulevard and McArthur Road.

Pierce was arrested Sunday after an armed robbery was reported on Yadkin Road. An officer pursued a car matching the description of the vehicle used to flee the robbery, and he chased the driver on foot through some woods near the Devonwood neighborhood, police said.

A masked man, dubbed the “Kangaroo Bandit,” has robbed more than a dozen store clerks since April 11, authorities said.

Pierce was being held Monday in the Cumberland County Detention Center under a $115,000 secured bond.