Robbery suspect shot by LR officer named in 2 other robberies

A robbery suspect shot Wednesday by a Little Rock officer is suspected in two other recent robberies, the Little Rock Police Department said Friday.

Michael McCormack, 31, who was shot after he robbed Mapco Max Mart at 8101 Stagecoach Road and pointed a gun at a police-dog handler, according to police, is also suspected in the robberies of a Bank of the Ozarks branch and Tom and Jean's grocery store.

According to police reports, McCormack walked into the Mapco Max Mart, poured a cup of coffee, then walked up to the counter, but instead of paying, he ordered the clerk to give him all the money in her cash register and grabbed three beers from a nearby cooler.

He left the store and headed into some nearby woods, according to reports. Officers said they followed his tracks in the snow and, with the help of two police dogs, found him lying in the woods about 200 yards from the business, where he "pointed his gun at officers with his finger on the trigger” before being shot by the police-dog handler, police reported.

The K9 officer, Paul Evans, who has been on the force since June 2000, wasn't hurt, Little Rock Police Department spokesman Lt. Sidney Allen said. Police didn't elaborate on McCormack’s injuries, other than to say that he was shot at least once after he pointed his gun toward Evans, who had told him to drop the weapon.

On Feb. 24, a Bank of the Ozarks branch at 11102 N. Rodney Parham Road was robbed about noon by a man who handed a teller a note that demanded money and indicated he had a gun, Arkansas Online previously reported. Witnesses said the robber fled in a black vehicle, according to a police report. Four days later, a man robbed at gunpoint an employee of Tom and Jean's Grocery, 3622 Sardis Road, about 7:10 p.m. before fleeing on foot, according to a separate report.

Allen said police have developed McCormack as the primary suspect in both of those robberies and obtained warrants for his arrest in both cases.