BOONE
Law-enforcement officers captured an armed robbery suspect after a chase and brief struggle Monday, authorities said. The suspect and a police officer were both injured.
Matthew David Tester, 19, of Mountain City, Tenn., was charged with two counts of robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of assault by pointing a gun, fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, failure to heed blue lights and siren, aggressive driving, failure to stop at a stop sign, left of center, no operator's license, speeding, failure to stop for a stop light, and resisting a public officer.
Tester and a Boone police officer were both treated for minor injuries at Watauga Medical Center and released, according to police.
Boone police officers responded at 4:54 p.m. to the Kangaroo Express #410 on Blowing Rock Road to a reported armed robbery, police said. The suspect left in a car, which Watauga County Sheriff's deputies tried to stop on Wilson Ridge Road.
That led to a chase with both deputies and police in pursuit. The suspect stopped his car on Charlie Hollar Road, then ran away. Officers chased him as he crossed the New River running toward Bamboo Road. Other officers had set up a perimeter on the Bamboo Road side of the river and captured the suspect, said Boone police.
The charges against Tester include a robbery at the B&B store in Vilas, after authorities determined he matched the description of a suspect who went into the store with a gun and demanded money, police said.
Tester was being held in the Watauga County jail today under a $100,000 bond. He has a Nov. 5 court date.
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