THE Department of Public Safety arrested Ronald Ealey (not Ealy as earlier reported) for robbing two tourists in Marpi Monday afternoon.
DPS said on Aug. 29, at around 1:58 p.m., the police department received a call reporting a robbery incident that took place in Marpi.
Police officers were dispatched to the caller’s location. At about 2:06 p.m., police met with a rental car operator who stated that the victims, who are tourists, were on their way.
Shortly after, a couple arrived in the area in a rental vehicle. “Officers noticed that the female passenger (Victim No. 1) was in tears as she got out of the vehicle and the male driver (Victim No. 2) was in shock, not being able to say much,” DPS said.
Police learned from the couple that they had stopped on the side of the road while heading to the Grotto because a red sedan kept honking at them from behind. After they stopped, the red sedan drove to the front of their rental vehicle and parked.
“Victim No. 2 stated that a male individual exited from the driver’s side of the sedan and walked toward their rented vehicle,” DPS said.
“The suspect continued to walk toward Victim No. 2 and repeatedly knocked on the driver’s side window while yelling at victim No. 2 to roll the window down. The suspect then proceeded to the passenger side of the rental vehicle where the window was rolled down halfway and demanded that Victim No. 1 roll the window down completely before reaching in and grabbing a bag in the middle of both victims,” DPS said.
“The suspect then took the bag, ran back to his sedan, and sped off really fast,” DPS added.
The victims took a photo of the red sedan. They said the robber had dark complexion with a beard and a missing front tooth, and was wearing sunglasses, short pants, and a t-shirt.
At about 2:27 p.m., a police officer conducted a violator stop on a red Mazda 3 that matched the description of the suspect’s vehicle.
“The driver of the vehicle was secured,” DPS said. “Both victims were asked to identify the suspect. The victims positively identified Ronald Ealey as the suspect from the incident.”
Ealey was arrested and transported to the Department of Corrections for booking and detainment. No other information about the suspect was available as of press time Wednesday.
The case remains ongoing, DPS said.
Ronald Ealey was arrested on Monday in Marpi on the charge of robbing tourists.
