HAMLET — A man suspected in a late-night armed robbery of a convenience store has been charged.
Investigators with the Hamlet Police Department say 26-year-old Daris Antonio Gillespie was involved in the Sept. 7 robbery of the Circle K on N.C. 177. Police say the incident happened just before 1 a.m.
Gillespie was arrested Oct. 15 and charged with one felony count each of robbery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon.
He is being held in the Richmond County Jail under a $100,000 secured bond and is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 5.
Online court records show Gillespie also has a pending misdemeanor charge of carrying a concealed gun. Records show he had an appearance scheduled for that charge the same day he was arrested.
Gillespie was first convicted in 2011 on a dozen felony counts of breaking and entering a motor vehicle, according to records with the N.C. Department of Public Safety Division of Adult Correction.
He was initially given probation, which was revoked the following year, landing him behind bars for nearly a year.
In 2015, Gillespie was again convicted on a single count of breaking and entering vehicles and, again, was given probation — which was revoked in 2016 resulting an a nearly 4-month incarceration.
He went back to prison for nearly seven months in 2017 on a post-release revocation.
All defendants facing criminal charges are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
