Police in North Little Rock said Wednesday they arrested two more teenagers suspected in a gas station robbery where a U.S. serviceman was fatally shot after he tried stopping two gunmen.
The department said officers arrested 17-year-old Darrius Stewart and 16-year-old Keith Keshawn Harris on Tuesday evening. Authorities previously arrested 18-year-olds Drequan Lamont Robinson and Keith Lamont Harris Jr.
All four teens face capital murder and robbery charges, and the Pulaski County Prosecutor said he plans to charge the two minors as adults.
Stewart and Robinson are accused of rushing into the Valero Big Red in downtown North Little Rock on Friday night, waving guns and ordering customers to the ground before demanding cash from the register, authorities and witnesses have said.
During the holdup, 23-year-old Senior Airman Shawn Mckeough Jr. tried tackling Stewart before Robinson shot him in the head, authorities have said.
Mckeough died at the scene and the robbers fled.
Police allege Keith Keshawn Harris was the driver of the car the robbers left in.
Keith Lamont Harris is accused of being a passenger in the car and being aware of the robbery. An arrest report filed this week said he and four others drove around the city for about an hour to scope out potential businesses to rob before stopping at Valero.
North Little Rock police released video of the two people brandishing handguns in the gas station with their faces at least partially covered, one by a panda hat and the other with a hoodie drawn over his head.
Multiple tipsters identified Robinson following the video’s release, including one person who recognized the teen as a former classmate, according to court records.
An outpour of support and condolences have followed Mckeough’s death from his fellow service members and at least one Arkansas congressman.
Mckeough, who enlisted in 2015, was stationed at the Little Rock Air Base after previously serving on bases in Germany, South Korea and Kuwait.
Sarah Terrano, Mckeough’s girlfriend who was outside the gas station and saw two young people rush in, told the Democrat-Gazette on Tuesday that friends and family were still grieving the Westbrook, Maine native’s death.
“It was hard for all of us worrying about him in all the places he served and then thinking he's safe in his home country," Terrano said. "I thought he was safe here."
Funeral arrangements were still being planned, she said.
Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley said his office was reviewing police investigation files Wednesday but felt the allegations warranted adult charges.
“Given the nature of the crime and circumstances, we think it’s appropriate to authorize them to be charged as adults,” he said.
Prosecutors haven’t ruled out seeking the death penalty, but Jegley said the case is in the very early stages of being prosecuted.
“We’ll analyze it and make a decision,” he said.
Stewart and Keith Keshawn Harris were set to appear in district court Thursday. The other two suspects appeared in court on Tuesday and were held without bail.
The killing marked North Little Rock’s first homicide of the year.