Surveillance video captured the moments that a suspect robbed a gas station clerk at gunpoint, eventually forcing her into a back bathroom before making it out with cash.
GRUNDY COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Surveillance video captured the moments that a suspect robbed a gas station clerk at gunpoint, eventually forcing her into a back bathroom before making it out with cash.
Law enforcement said that this was only the beginning of Charles “Rusty” Campbell’s alleged crime spree. Deputies said that he came into a Gruetli-Laager gas station with a gun.
“At one point, he puts the gun under the window and puts it closer to her,” detective with the Grundy County Sheriff’s Office, Avery McGinness, told News 2.
Detectives added that Campbell reportedly demanded $1,500 along with the clerk’s car and forced her into a bathroom. McGinness said that the clerk recalled a mask and a bandana over his face.
“She said at one point, she thought she was literally going to get shot,” McGinness added.
Investigators said that Campbell ran off, continuing his outlaw streak. The next day, deputies arrested him after he allegedly set a stolen car on fire.
“He wasn’t confrontational at first, and then he became confrontational. He started running,” McGinness said. “He then pulled a gun out of his pocket.”
On Friday, deputies said that Campbell climbed the jail fence and escaped before going up to an elderly couple’s home and asked for a phone. McGinness said that “he did body slam” an elderly man and “was hitting” a woman. The couple was able to walk away without injuries.
“They were fighting him,” McGinness added. “They put up a good fight.”
McGinness said that the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) was bringing a helicopter to assist and that additional surrounding counties were going to bring a K9, but Grundy County deputies found Campbell first.
As of publication, Campbell is back in jail with a handful of felony charges against him. Deputies said that the clerk was shaken up. The clerk did not want to speak on camera.