Police charge man in east Charlotte convenience store robbery

A man was arrested Monday for an armed robbery of a Circle K in east Charlotte, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

Melvin Lorenzo Jones Jr., 40, was charged with robbery with a dangerous weapon, careless and reckless driving, driving while license revoked, and operating a motor vehicle while fleeing law enforcement, police said.

Police said they arrived around 1 a.m. at the convenience store at 7225 Albemarle Road, where a man with a handgun had demanded money from the register. The clerk gave the money to the man, who then left in a vehicle, police said.

Police said they used license plate information the clerk gave 911 to locate the vehicle. When Jones refused to pull over, a pursuit took place, police said. Jones lost control of the vehicle and crashed on Idlewild Road before being taken into custody, according to police.

This story was originally published January 15, 2018 at 4:44 PM with the headline "Police charge man in east Charlotte convenience store robbery."