On January 20, 2017 at approximately 6:12 p.m., officers with the Winchester Police Department responded to 823 N. Loudoun St. for reports of a robbery in progress. Investigators determined a white man wearing a black mask entered the Northside Mart, displayed a handgun, and demanded money from the cash register. Witnesses told police that the suspect drove off in a green colored pick-up truck. No one inside the business was injured.
A short time later, deputies with the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office spotted a vehicle on Rt. 50 East matching the description of the suspect and initiated a traffic stop. The vehicle failed to stop and a pursuit began which traveled north on Interstate 81 into West Virginia, then returned south, and ultimately ended at the West Virginia/Virginia state line, where two men were taken into custody.
James Allen Armel, 53, and Justin Lee Armel, 29, are charged with robbery and use of a firearm while committing a felony. Both are being held at Eastern Regional Jail in West Virginia. Both men also have outstanding warrants from the Winchester Police Department for felony petty larceny charges.
Anyone with additional information in this case is asked to call the Winchester Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division at (540) 545-4704 or Crime Solvers at (540) 665‑TIPS (8477).
