A man suspected of a Sunday spree of attempted armed robberies at Speedway gas stations and convenience stores – two in the Durango area and another in Montrose – was arrested Monday morning west of Wichita, Kansas.
Donald Edward Labarr III, 32, of Montrose was arrested in Pratt County, Kansas, around 8:30 a.m. Monday on multiple felony counts out of Colorado, said Pratt County Sheriff’s Office Correctional Officer Caden Carmack.
Labarr remains in custody at the Pratt County Jail, and an affidavit hearing was scheduled for Wednesday morning after which extradition proceedings to Colorado will likely begin, Carmack said.
Labarr’s suspected attempted armed robberies of Speedway gas stations and convenience stores culminated in Durango around 9:30 p.m. Sunday when a man tried to hold up the gas station at Ninth Street and Camino del Rio.
Durango Police Cmdr. Ray Shupe said Labarr is suspected of flashing a handgun in his waistband to the attendant of the Speedway, 901 Camino del Rio.
The attendant told the suspect he could not give him any money, and the man fled the shop after saying “Vote Democrat,” Shupe said.
About 20 minutes earlier, at 9:10 p.m. Sunday, Labarr is suspect of an attempted holdup at the Speedway at 32225 U.S. Highway 550, north of Durango. The suspect again flashed a handgun and demanded money, said Chris Burke, spokesman for the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
During the Highway 550 robbery attempt, the attendant tried but failed to open the cash drawer, and while the robbery was in progress, another customer walked into the store, interrupting the attempted robbery.
“The surveillance tape shows him nonchalantly taking a couple packs of cigarettes and walking out of the store,” Burke said.
The first Speedway to be robbed Sunday was in Montrose County at 7:18 p.m., and Labarr is suspected in that robbery as well, Burke said.
Montrose law enforcement agencies have a warrant out for Labarr for armed robbery and for auto theft.
Labarr left all the robbery scenes in a gray 2020 Nissan Altima that had been reported stolen, Burke said.
Labarr had been thought to be headed toward Pima, Arizona, instead he headed east.
The Sheriff’s Office and the Durango Police Department both sought warrants for Labarr’s arrest on suspicion of armed robbery.
In Kansas, Labarr is charged with possession of stolen property, a firearm; theft of property; criminal possession of a weapon by a felon for use in a crime; operating a motor vehicle without a valid license; and criminal carry of a weapon.
The Durango Police Department recommends that anyone under threat from an armed robber should not put up a fight. However, Shupe said it is up to each person to determine how they should respond.
parmijo@durangoherald.com
