|
Austin Cox (July 30, 2012) |
An 18-year-old man who allegedly beat a Danville teenager during a home invasion last week is now in custody, officials said.
Austin “Neal" Cox, of Waynesburg, was arrested Sunday for the alleged Thursday night robbery and burglary at a Goggin Drive home, said Boyle County Sheriff Marty Elliott. Detectives received an anonymous tip that Cox was sitting at a picnic table next to the William E. “Bunny” Davis Recreation Center in Danville and arrested him without incident.
Cox is being held in Boyle County Detention Center without bond on charges of first-degree robbery and first-degree burglary. If convicted, Cox could go to prison for 10 to 20 years on each charge.
Cox allegedly broke into an acquaintance’s Goggin Drive home about 9 p.m. Thursday, Elliott said. A 15-year-old boy who lived there saw a masked man with a gun in his home and confronted him, according to the sheriff. Cox allegedly beat the boy, who pulled off the mask and realized the robber was someone he knew. Before leaving, Cox allegedly grabbed the victim’s PlayStation and also threw a concrete block through a rear window of the home, Elliott said.
A tan or pewter Jeep Cherokee was waiting for him, and the victim identified the getaway driver as John Ganem, the sheriff said. As of today, Ganem, 18, was still at large. He is about 5 feet, 7 inches tall, weighs 140 pounds and has light brown hair.
Anyone who sees Ganem should immediately call 911 because the suspect is considered “armed and extremely dangerous,” Elliott said.
Violent robberies have become much more common in the Danville area due to increasing problems with prescription pill abuse, said Elliott and Danville Police Chief Tony Gray.
As of today, Danville police were still seeking two suspects who in a similar but unrelated robbery allegedly burst into an acquaintance’s home on Denmark Drive earlier Thursday. The resident also was beaten, though in this robbery prescription drugs and cash were stolen. Gray identified Chancey T. Rainey, 32, and William Sean Rainey, 38, both of Danville, as suspects.
