Suspect in Young’s Grocery robbery caught; four others still beign sought by police

Whitley County Sheriff’s deputies have arrested one person so far in connection with the Dec. 30 armed robbery of Young’s Grocery.

About 1 p.m. on Jan. 2, Sheriff’s Chief Deputy K.Y. Fuson, Deputy Jeff Anderson and Kentucky State Police Trooper David Lassiter went to Kayla Dean Lawson’s 304 Village Circle residence in Williamsburg and served her with an arrest warrant charging her with first-degree robbery.

Sheriff Colan Harrell stated in the warrant that on Dec. 30, Lawson, 24, was allegedly a passenger in a car that robbed Young’s Grocery. Thieves made off with cash and a .38 Taurus pistol. A witness at the scene identified Lawson, according to the warrant.
Lawson has pleaded not guilty to the charge. She was scheduled for a preliminary hearing in Whitley District Court Monday morning but that hearing was postponed until Jan. 16.

Lawson was originally booked into the Whitley County Detention Center at 3:07 p.m. on Jan. 2 and released from there at 4:14 p.m. that same day.

She was then transferred to the Laurel County Detention Center.

She was transferred back to the Whitley County Detention Center Monday evening where she is currently being held without bond.

Harrell said that he couldn’t comment on the case except to say that Lawson was charged in relation to the robbery.

The robbery

Two men allegedly entered the store about 6:30 p.m. on Dec. 30. One was armed with a revolver and the other a rifle and demanded cash. The two obscured their faces using a toboggan and a hoodie, Harrell said.

The duo then fled the scene in a white four-door Grand Prix, which had three females in the backseat, Harrell said.

Witnesses described one of the females as having a lip ring in the lower right lip and black nail polish.

One of the men was 5’9" tall weighing about 210 pounds. The other was about 6’0" weighing about 170 pounds.

Anyone with any information about the robbery is asked to contact the Whitley County Sheriff’s Department at 549-6006 during regular business hours or Whitley County 911 Dispatch after hours at 549-6017.