A Collinsville man is facing charges from both city and county law enforcement in connection to two armed robberies at convenience stores earlier this month.

Meridian Police Department Detective Chanetta Stevens said Brandon McCleon, 27, faces an armed robbery charge from MPD in connection with the March 13 robbery at the Exxon gas station located at 325 Highway 19.

The store clerk told police a Black male wearing a ski mask took a “large amount of cash and unknown amount of Newport cigarettes,” Stevens said.

In a prepared statement, Stevens said MPD’s investigation has been turned over to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department, where McCleon is also facing charges.

McCleon is facing multiple charges from LCSO, including armed robbery of the CEFCO convenience store in Collinsville, probation violation, disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.

Chief Deputy Ward Calhoun said deputies received a 911 call shortly after midnight Monday morning about the Collinsville robbery, which took place 30-40 minutes prior to the Exxon robbery in the city. After reviewing surveillance videos, law enforcement determined McCleon was a suspect in both robberies.

Deputies arrested McCleon on a warrant for violating parole about midnight Tuesday and took him to the Lauderdale County Detention Center. As deputies were taking McCleon from the car, Calhoun said he was able to run away and evade searchers.

Calhoun said around 5 p.m. Tuesday a tip led LCSD deputies and MPD officers to Highway Village Apartments, where McCleon was taken into custody a second time.

The two robberies are not the first time McCleon had crossed paths will law enforcement. Calhoun said McCleon previously pleaded guilty in 2015 to armed robbery at a Collinsville gas station and was involved in several burglaries in 2016.

Calhoun said LCSD plans to present the case to federal authorities for prosecution. If accepted, a conviction would put McCleon up for stiffer penalties.