Ross MeredithWOOD RIVER - The Wood River Police Department apprehended and charged a man with Attempted Armed Robbery, a Class 1 offense.

The man, Ross Meredith, 26, of the 500 block of South Central, Wood River, was charged Wednesday afternoon.

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At 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday, the Wood River Police Department received a 9-1-1 call reporting a man with a gun on the lot of Wal-Mart, 610 Wesley Drive, Wood River.

Wood River Deputy Police Chief Dan Bunt said witnesses were watching the suspect as he approached a female at her vehicle. When the suspect noticed he was being watched he briefly displayed a handgun in view of the witnesses and fled the area. The witnesses gave a good description of the suspect and the vehicle he left in, Bunt said.

Several officers located the suspect vehicle on Illinois Route 111 at Harrison. The officers conducted a felony stop on the vehicle and detained a female driver and a male passenger. The witnesses identified the male passenger as the person they saw with the gun. During the search of the van several items were seized as evidence, however no gun was located.

Deputy Chief Bunt said Officer Hoefert and his K-9 partner Bruno, during an article search of the area, located the gun in the grassy median near the traffic stop. The gun was found to be an air soft look-a-like pistol and later confirmed to be the gun the male possessed.

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Both suspects were taken into custody. During the interviews the officers learned the male planned on taking a female victim at gunpoint to an ATM to withdraw money.

"Thanks to our witnesses observing and reporting what they saw to be suspicious, this never occurred," Bunt said. 

The case was presented to the Madison County States Attorney’s Office this afternoon. Meredith was then charged with Attempted Armed Robbery, Class 1

The Honorable Judge Tognarelli set Meredith’s bond at $100,000.00. Meredith was also wanted on a Probation Violation warrant.

The female was released with no formal charges at this time.

                                                    

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