Lancaster deputies find lead, make arrest in armed robbery case after similar incident the next day

Deputies say they’ve arrested a 21-year man in connection with the armed robbery for cash and cigarettes earlier this week at JR Grocery in Lancaster County.

The Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office investigation of the robbery is ongoing and more people could be charged, according to a news release sent Friday. Investigators with the sheriff’s office and the Lancaster Police Department worked together to identify the man accused after a similar armed robbery happened at the Crenco store the next day.

Kenny Blackmon, of Lancaster, has been charged with armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, according to the sheriff’s office. He’s accused of robbing JR Grocery on Brooklyn Avenue around 11:40 a.m. Monday.

The store clerk told deputies a man with a gun demanded money and Newport cigarettes. No shots were fired at the store and no one was injured. Deputies say witnesses gave investigators a description of the man and his getaway car.

Less than 24 hours later, deputies say the city police department responded to an early morning robbery at the Crenco store on S.C. 9 Bypass West. A man on surveillance video there matched the description of the suspect in the JR Grocery robbery, according to the news release.

Deputies believe that same man cashed in a $1 lottery ticket at a Crenco store on South Main Street about 10 minutes before the JR Grocery incident. Investigators then traced the sale of the lottery ticket and “determined that Blackmon was the man who cashed it at Crenco,” the release states.

Following the lottery ticket transaction and sale, investigators say they talked to witnesses who “implicated” Blackmon in the Crenco robbery from Tuesday. Police then arrested him. The sheriff’s office then charged Blackmon after interviewing him.

Lancaster Sheriff Barry Faile on Friday lauded his deputies’ partnership with city police to make an arrest

“These cases illustrate the value of cooperation between law enforcement agencies ... The primary person responsible for these two armed robberies is now in jail,” Faile said.

Anyone with information about this case or any other crime may call the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 803-283-3388 or Crimestoppers at 1-888-CRIME-SC (www.sccrimestoppers.com).

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 8:36 AM with the headline "Lancaster deputies find lead, make arrest in armed robbery case after similar incident the next day."