Police: Same man robbed motel, gas station

It was almost certainly the same man who attempted to rob a gas station in north Corbin Sunday night at gunpoint, then did make off with an undisclosed amount of money from a local hotel, local police claim.
Authorities are looking for a white male, about 5-5 or 5-6 tall, 130 – 140 lbs., thin build with what witnesses describe as a very calm, soft youthful voice. Police say he likely had an accomplice, when he robbed the Day’s Inn Motel Sunday night, described as a white female with long, dark hair driving a 1990s model 2×4 red Toyota pickup truck.
The robbery spree started about 9:15 p.m. Sunday when police received a 911 call of a report of an armed robber at the Laurel Lake Shell gas station located on KY 770 near I-75 Exit 29. According to police, the suspect entered the store armed with a blue steel semi-automatic handgun and demanded money from a clerk. The robbery attempt was supposedly foiled, however, when a customer pulled up to the gas pumps and got out of their vehicle, causing the suspect to flee from the scene through a back door.
About 20 minutes later, a man of matching description entered the front lobby of the Day’s Inn Motel on Cumberland Falls Hwy. and demanded money from the clerk. After the clerk gave him some cash, the man left the hotel on foot and dashed into a nearby woods.
The Whitley County Investigative Task Force was activated shortly after the robbery. Corbin Police Capt. Tim Helton, who is leading the investigation for the task force, said he thinks the man responsible for the robbery, and his accomplice, probably live in the area.
“We believe they very well could be local,” he said. “The direction of travel of the vehicle and some other things make me think that.”
Police say the man was wearing a black ski mask, a blue or black hooded sweatshirt and faded baggy blue jeans at the time of the robbery.
Corbin Police Officer Glenn Taylor, Jr. and K-9 dog Shep tracked the man’s escape route through the woods to a point where they claim he was picked up by his accomplice.
Helton would not say how much money was taken from the hotel. He added that both crime scenes were processed by police and that he is hoping to obtain surveillance video images of the man.
Helton said the task force and the Laurel County Major Crimes Task Force, responsible for investigating the robbery attempt at the Laurel Lake Shell, are working closely to solve the cases.
Anyone with any information regarding these crimes is encouraged to contact any member of the task force. Capt. Tim Helton, Corbin Police 528-1122; Lt. Chuck Davis, Whitley County Sheriff’s Department 549-6006, Det. Wayne Bird, Williamsburg Police Department 549-6037 or Det. Colan Harrrell, Kentucky State Police at 878-6622.