Three Danville men have been arrested in connection to a string of robberies
Two men armed with handguns and wearing masks entered the Astoria Hotel office at 1030 Piney Forest Road just before 10 p.m. yesterday and demanded money. The robbers left with an undisclosed amount of cash without harming the clerk.
Police officers, detectives, crime scene technicians and K9 officers responded to the scene to investigate. Within a short period of time, they developed a suspect vehicle and broadcast that description to surrounding law enforcement jurisdictions.
Later in the night, Pittsylvania County Sheriff’s Office deputies observed the suspect vehicle and contacted the Danville Police Department. Together, police officers and deputies stopped the vehicle in the city limits and detained the two occupants.
As the investigation unfolded, police linked the individuals from the Astoria robbery to the Saturday night robbery of Charlie’s Stop N Shop. Police charged Johnny Burton, Quintell Saunders and Tyree Murphy each with two counts of robbery in connection to both incidents. All three men are from Danville.
Burton (pictured left in white shirt) and Saunders (pictured right in black shirt) were the occupants of the suspect vehicle when it was stopped and are being held in the Danville City Jail without bond. Murphy was arrested late this morning in Danville without incident and is still in police custody. Murphy’s photo will be released when it becomes available.
The case is still active and ongoing. Anyone with information on this case is asked to call 911 or contact us at 434-793-0000 or by using our crime tips app CARE: https://www.p3tips.com/tipform.aspx?ID=818#.
Tyree S. Murphy (age 20) – Virginia State Code 18.2-58 – Robbery (2 counts)
Johnny W. Burton, Jr. (age 32) – Virginia State Code 18.2-58 – Robbery (2 counts)
Quintell K. Saunders 9age 23) – Virginia State Code 18.2-58 – Robbery (2 counts)
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