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Armed robbery reports lead to car chase over multiple counties

Minutes after an armed robbery was reported at a Clinton, Iowa Walmart, another was reported at a Savanna, Illinois gas station.  When police tried to confront ...

Minutes after an armed robbery was reported at a Clinton, Iowa Walmart, another was reported at a Savanna, Illinois gas station.  When police tried to confront a driver in a vehicle that matched their description, the driver fled starting a chase that crossed county lines.

At 9:39 p.m. Tuesday, August 4, an armed robbery at a Clinton, Iowa Walmart was reported, according to a statement from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. At 9:41 p.m. an armed robbery was reported at Milo & Beavers gas station on Main Street in Savanna, Illinois. A man had reportedly gone into the store with a knife and demanded money.

“After a brief struggle, the subject left the store on foot without getting any money,” the sheriff’s statement said.

While the Savanna Police Department and the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department were there, a deputy spotted a car parked near Casey’s in Savanna that matched the description of the vehicle from the reported Clinton, Iowa robbery, police said.

“As the deputy was preparing to confront the vehicle, it fled the scene and a pursuit ensued,” the statement said.

Deputies and local police departments reportedly chased the car east on Route 64 onto Route 52 in Ogle County.

Amid the pursuit, squad cars from the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and the Lanark Police Department crashed at the intersection of Route 52 and Route 26, the sheriff’s department said.  Nobody was injured.

The chase continued north on Route 26 and east on Route 64. It finally ended near Daysville Road in Ogle County after stop sticks were placed on the roadway and the fleeing vehicle crashed with a Milledgeville squad car, police said. There were no injuries.

Police said 25-year-old Aaron C. Watson, from Rockford, Illinois, was arrested and taken to Ogle County Jail.  Watson was charged with aggravated fleeing to elude, resisting arrest and driving while license suspended. Another person of minor age, was also taken into custody.

Charges from Carroll and Clinton Counties for both of them were pending. The sheriff’s department said the two were believed to have been part of a felony theft that happened earlier in Freeport.

Several departments responded to help with the situation. That includes Savanna, Mt. Carroll, Lanark, Shannon, Milledgeville, Chadwick, Oregon, Mount Morris,  Ogle County Sheriff’s Office, Lee County Sheriff’s Office and the Illinois State Police.

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