By Emily D. Williams

Two Batesville men are charged in a string of armed robberies in Horn Lake, Southaven and Senatobia that occurred within two hours after midnight last Friday night.

Christopher Joiner, 19, Ruby Road, Courtland, and Johnathan Bledsoe, 23, Nash Road, Batesville, are charged with robbing a Horn Lake convenience store, and 20 minutes later, a Southaven gas station, then moving to Senatobia where a third store was robbed. In all three cases store employees were held at gunpoint while suspects took cash.

Senatobia police immediately issued a “be on the lookout” alert, and shortly afterward police in Sardis identified the car and stopped the suspects, who are now in the Tate County jail.
Sardis Police Chief John Deal said Sardis police officer Steve McLarty saw a vehicle that matched the description given by Senatobia police, traveling south on I-55.

“We did recover evidence in the case,” Deal said. “The officer did a good job getting these guys off the streets. He may have helped solve four armed robberies,” Deal added.

Two Panola County Sheriff’s deputies, Emily Griffin and Chuck Tucker, assisted McLarty.
Joiner is also charged in the armed robbery of the Batesville Exxon, Hwy. 6 East, in the early morning hours of Memorial Day, May 27, and with a subsequent robbery around 3 a.m. June 14 at an Oxford convenience store. In both cases store clerks were held at gunpoint.

Police believe Joiner acted alone in the Batesville and Oxford robberies, according to BPD Det. Capt. Paul Shivers who has been investigating the Batesville robbery.

Video of the armed robbery at Exxon clearly shows a slender black male walking in just a few minutes after midnight May 27 wearing a tan baseball cap, red shirt,  blue jean shorts and black and white shoes. He was of slender build and estimated to be 5’7-8”.

He clearly holds what appears to be a semi-automatic pistol to the back of the clerk’s neck while she holds her hands up and he fumbles through the cash register.

According to Shivers, the suspect left on foot headed west with an undetermined amount of cash.

Around 3 a.m. June 14 a suspect matching Joiner’s description waited until the last customer left the Kangaroo store in Oxford, according to Detective Jeff McCutchen with the Oxford Police Department.

“We noticed in surveillance he had the same type clothing and matched the description of the suspect in the Exxon robbery in Batesville,” he said.

The detective said they then notified Batesville investigators.

“The red Nike shirt he had on was very peculiar. He had an Ole Miss hat on but not the same as the one in the video at the Exxon in Batesville,” he added.

“He shopped around for candy like he did in the video at Exxon. He actually tried paying for the candy here then jumped the counter,” he added. The clerk was held at gun point in Oxford as well.

No bond has been set for the Oxford armed robbery and Joiner has a hold, McCutchens said.
Joiner’s bond was set at $750,000 for the Exxon armed robbery in Batesville, according to Municipal Judge Jay Westfaul.