Man arrested in Mebane ABC store robbery, chase but two others still sought

Bradford Perry, Jr., of Durham, was taken into custody at 12:30 p.m. Friday after investigators connected evidence in the vehicle to him, the Orange County Sheriff's Office said in a written statement.

Perry is charged with three counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of second-degree kidnapping, conspiring to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon and a felony flee to elude.

Perry was being held Friday at the Orange County Detention Center on a $500,000 bond, and he is scheduled to appear in court Monday, the sheriff's office said.

Authorities are working to identify the other two men involved. Officials asked that anyone with information on their whereabouts to call the Orange County sheriff's at 919-245-2975.

"From the beginning, this was a complicated, multi-agency case," said Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood. "We are so grateful to have such excellent partnerships with other law enforcement agencies, including the Durham Police Department and the Highway Patrol. This was a hostile, aggressive crime, and it is great to be able to work this case with the force multiplying effect of strong working relationships."

Authorities said Perry and one other man robbed a clerk and customer at gunpoint at the ABC store on U.S. Highway 70 near Mebane shortly before 9 p.m.

The suspects took the cash register drawer, the customer’s wallet and two bottles of liquor.

A witness followed the men’s vehicle, a gray Chevrolet Malibu, as they fled the scene, and then law enforcement officers began a chase.

The suspects’ vehicle and a Highway Patrol cruiser crashed. One suspect fled the area on foot, and the other drove off.

The Highway Patrol cruiser was too heavily damaged to pursue the suspects’ vehicle. They are pursuing multiple traffic violations that occurred during the chase.