Lake Ridge, Va. –– Police say a man robbed a grocery store and then led police on a chase, all while his young child was inside the getaway car.
Officers were called to the Bloom grocery store at 12420 Dillingham Square in Lake Ridge at 9:53 p.m. Monday for a report of a robbery.
Witnesses told police a man walked in the store, brandished a handgun and demanded money. He then left the store in a red Dodge Neon, said Prince William police spokesman Jonathan Perok.
Officers pursued the man and attempted to stop his car in the area of Nugent Lane in Dumfries, but the driver ignored them and kept driving, eventually making his way into Stafford County.
After he crossed the county line, deputies with the county’s sheriff’s office were able to stop the man and arrest him, said Perok.
Deputies used a “rolling road block” and stopped the man at mile post 134 on Interstate 95, said Stafford sheriff’s spokesman Bill Kennedy.
But when they searched the man’s car they found his 2-month-old son inside, said Perok.
Police said the child was in the car during the robbery and the pursuit.
The boy was unharmed and was returned to a family member, said Perok.
Marquise Antwallious Cody, 22, of 17257 Nugent Lane in Dumfries, is charged in Prince William County with armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, use of a firearm in commission of a felony, reckless endangerment and felony eluding.
Officials in Stafford County also filed charges against Cody, including child neglect and reckless endangerment, said Perok.
He is scheduled to appear in Prince William County court Dec. 17.
