PAXTON — Authorities arrested a Champaign man and an Urbana man on armed robbery charges Wednesday for allegedly robbing a person at gunpoint at a Paxton park.
In a news release Thursday, Paxton Police Chief Coy Cornett announced the arrest of Devin L. Starkey, 23, of Champaign, and Steffonce J. Moffitt, 22, of Urbana.
Both were being held Thursday at the Ford County Jail in Paxton on charges of armed robbery and parole violations, with Moffitt facing an additional charge of driving with a suspended driver’s license, Cornett said. State’s Attorney Andrew Killian had not yet filed formal charges in Ford County Circuit Court, according to online court records.
With the help of automated license-plate-reading cameras, authorities were able to identify Starkey and Moffitt as suspects — and a gray 2012 Hyundai Sonata as their getaway vehicle — in an armed robbery that was reported to police around 5:09 p.m. Saturday, March 15, at Fulton Park on Paxton’s southeast side, Cornett said.
According to Cornett, the victim said they were conducting an online sale of two pairs of shoes when they were contacted by Starkey, who offered to buy the shoes and then arranged to meet the victim at Fulton Park for the exchange. When they met at the park, Starkey allegedly displayed a pistol, taking the two pairs of shoes that were for sale plus the victim’s shoes along with $120 in cash, while Moffitt allegedly demanded money from passengers in the victim’s vehicle, Cornett said. The robbers then fled southbound on South Vermillion Street in the gray Sonata, Cornett said.
The vehicle and two suspects were identified following an investigation by Paxton police — with assistance from police in Watseka, Urbana and Champaign — and the use of Flock Safety license-plate-reading cameras, Cornett said.
Around 6 a.m. Wednesday, March 19, officers from the Paxton Police Department, Gibson City Police Department and Ford County Sheriff’s Office, assisted by Metro SWAT and Champaign SWAT, executed search warrants in the 1100 block of North Gregory Street in Urbana and 1700 block of Crescent Drive in Champaign, along with a “consent search” in the 1000 block South Mattis Avenue, Cornett said.
“Ultimately the two suspects were located, arrested and transported to the Ford County Sheriff’s Office,” Cornett said. “The gray 2012 Hyundai Sonata was taken as evidence and impounded via Paxton city ordinance, as it was used during the commission of the armed robbery.”