Indiana man charged with robbery with BB gun waives hearing

An Indiana man charged with aggravated robbery waived his preliminary hearing on Friday afternoon in Middletown Municipal Court, and his case was bound over to the Butler County Grand Jury for consideration.

Brenden Parker, 27, of Aurora, Ind., was charged with aggravated robbery, a felony, and two misdemeanors (resisting arrest and obstructing official business) after he allegedly robbed a Middletown pharmacy on Jan. 10. Parker allegedly showed a female clerk a gun — that later was determined to be a BB gun — and demanded cash. He allegedly left the Rite Aid with about $280 in cash, according to Middletown police.

Parker appeared Friday with his court-appointed attorney, James Calhoun, before Municipal Court Judge James Sherron. Sherron kept Parker’s bond at $256,000 — $250,000 for aggravated robbery and $3,000 each for the misdemeanors.

At Parker’s arraignment last week, Sherron set the bond that high because of the “serious nature” of the charges, he said.

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Last week, during his arraignment, Parker seemed confused and disorientated while standing before Sherron. Middletown police said after Parker was arrested on Jan. 10 he was acting “strange,” so he was examined at Atrium Medical Center before he was transported to the city jail.

Police believe Parker may have family in the Middletown, though there didn’t appear to be any friends or relatives in the courtroom during his preliminary hearing. Franklin police said Parker was charged with petty theft there in 2009, and he was arrested two years later for a failure to appear.

Parker allegedly pulled out what the clerk thought was a black handgun and told the female clerk: “Give me the money in the cash register and I will not harm you,” according to the Middletown police report.

The cashier told Parker she couldn’t do that and he repeated: “I do not want to hurt you. Give me the money.”

During the foot pursuit that followed, a Middletown police officer deployed his taser, but the taser was ineffective because both probes missed the suspect, the report said. Once the subject was caught, he refused to be handcuffed and two “baton strikes” were used to “gain compliance” on him, the report said.

After he was apprehended, he was found to be in possession of the stolen money. Canine officer Bear found a black BB gun near where the suspect was located.

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