Williamsburg man in jail for Wal-Mart robbery Thursday

A Williamsburg man is being held in the Whitley County Detention Center without bond after being arrested Thursday morning for robbing Wal-Mart. Williamsburg police also arrested the man’s uncle for shoplifting in connection with the incident.

Williamsburg Police Officer Jason Strunk charged Chad E. Lawson, 32, of 119 Rev. H.D. Lawson Road, with first-degree robbery following an incident about 9:30 a.m.

Officer Elijah Hunter charged Lawson’s uncle, Henry Pete Lawson, 55, also of 119 Rev. H.D. Lawson Road, with theft by unlawful taking.

Williamsburg police received a call from Wal-Mart Asset Protection that two subjects were shoplifting and that they were stopping Chad Lawson, according to arrest citations.

Strunk stayed on the line with the caller while a police officer was dispatched to the store.

Chad Lawson allegedly became very disorderly with asset protection employees, fled the store on foot, and started fighting asset protection workers when they stopped him inside the store, Strunk wrote.

"When this officer arrived, offender was still fighting asset protection. Subject was restrained and arrested," Strunk wrote.

When Hunter arrived at the store’s parking lot, he was informed that one of the subjects was wearing a red Target Nascar jacket and was already out of the store, he wrote on Henry Lawson’s arrest citation.

"I observed the subject (Henry Lawson). I then approached the subject and he had two packs of steaks and a T-shirt stuffed inside his shirt," Hunter wrote on Henry Lawson’s arrest citation.

A total of $43.27 worth of items were taken, including two steaks and a Polo shirt, according to court documents.

Officer Shawn Jackson also served Chad Lawson with a fugitive warrant from Tennessee.

The charges filed by Jellico police against Chad Lawson include: failure to obey a traffic control device, driving while suspended, felony reckless evading, theft conduct involving merchandise, and two counts of felony reckless endangerment, according to court documents.

On Oct. 3 about 10:14 p.m., Jellico Police Officer Wayne Barton allegedly observed Lawson fail to make a complete stop at a stop sign, and was aware that he was driving on a suspended license, according to an affidavit filed by Barton.

Barton stopped the vehicle, approached it on the passenger’s side, and knocked on the window. When Lawson saw the officer, he drove off in a reckless manner striking the officer and causing him to jump into a ditch next to the road, Barton wrote in the affidavit.

Barton returned to his patrol car, and pursued Lawson, who was allegedly going over 65mph in a 45 mph zone in the wrong lane of travel, Barton wrote.

"The defendant stopped his vehicle only after it ran out of gas, and then fled on foot into the woods," Barton wrote.
Lawson eluded police during a brief foot pursuit, Barton wrote.

On Nov. 25 about 1:35 p.m., Chad Lawson allegedly took $17 worth of items from the Family Dollar Store in Jellico, according to another affidavit.