The 28-year-old North Little Rock man accused of holding up a Little Rock bank and a neighboring beauty supply store in less than 24 hours has robbed before.
Court records show that Brandon Marcelis is currently under a suspended sentence for his May 2009 conviction for aggravated robbery and felony theft. He pleaded guilty to those charges in exchange for a sentence of 10 years in prison with another 15 years suspended, court records show.
In July 2008, he robbed a woman, Sharekia Law, of her purse and car keys while she and her niece, Dejana Shavers, were at the coin-operated laundry at 4724 E. Broadway in North Little Rock, court records show.
Law told police they were doing their laundry when a man walked in and appeared to be checking to see if there was anyone else in the laundry. Once he saw that there was no one else, the man walked up to her and lifted his shirt to show he had a gun in his pocket, Law told police. The robber left in Law's green Chevrolet Malibu. Law's boyfriend, Steve Thompson, saw the car the next day and directed police to it.
The driver of the Malibu tried to elude police, but crashed during the subsequent chase. The driver ran off, but police tracked him down. They found him hiding under a van and arrested him. Officers found a pistol under the driver's seat, court records show.
Marcelis told authorities he just happened to cross paths with Law and decided to rob her because he was "tired of not having any money" and that he "just went riding around town," court filings show.
Court records show that Marcelis had been on probation for about five months at the time of the holdup after pleading guilty to residential burglary charges in February 2008. He'd been sentenced to five years on probation.
On Friday, Little Rock police announced that Marcelis had been charged with two counts of aggravated robbery. Authorities say he was responsible for the 11:30 a.m. Friday holdup at the U.S. Bank branch at 6004 Baseline Road and the 1:15 p.m. Thursday stick-up at the Beauty Gallery at 5919 Baseline Road.
Workers at the store said the robber had been shopping for a belt before pulling a gun and demanding they empty the cash register. The gunman fled with the cash and the belt, along with some other items.
Marcelis is being held in the Pulaski County jail, with his bail set at $100,000.
Metro on 08/14/2018