EDITOR’S NOTE: This story has been updated with additional details provided by Scotts Bluff County Sheriff Mark Overman
Authorities say following a strong-arm robbery last week at a bed and breakfast in the rural Gering, one person of interest is in custody on Colorado charges.
KNEB News spoke with proprietor Sharon Henderson, and was told the incident took place in separate lodge accommodations Tuesday, ending with one person injured, and keys, wallets, cash, credit cards, phones and IDs stolen, as well as a handgun from a pickup.
According to Henderson, three guests were in the lodge when footsteps were heard on the upper floor, followed by two men with masks, gloves and a firearm forcing their way into the occupied lower rooms.
She said all three guests were then forced together upstairs and into a room on their knees ‘execution style’, and one of the men who had checked-in before the other two was pistol-whipped.
The suspects took that man’s wallet, money and keys, then ransacked his truck looking for valuables, which included a handgun. In a release Friday afternoon, Sheriff Mark Overman said one of the victims was able to retrieve a cell phone and call 911 shortly before 11 p.m. that evening, and while the victims said they didn’t know the suspects and couldn’t identify what they were driving, the vehicle was characterized as “loud.”
Henderson said after the attackers left the property, the injured guest approached her home bleeding from the head and face. Overman said following the arrival of Minatare-Melbeta rescue and Regional West EMS, the victim was taken to the Scottsbluff hospital for treatment.
Henderson said the two other guests who did not speak English refused medical treatment, and asked through a Scottsbluff Police interpreter to stay in the main house the rest of the night, given the circumstances. She says after that pair left, she later discovered money and credit cards were missing, with charges racked up on one of the cards in Boulder, Colorado, prompting a call to authorities in that community.
Henderson said she believed the incident was not random but targeted, and Overman’s statement to the media confirmed investigators were of the same belief.
He says within a very short time after the incident, investigators were in contact with Colorado authorities from more than one agency. One person of interest was said to be in custody on Colorado charges, one vehicle has been impounded, and some property stolen from the victims has been recovered. Investigators have been to Colorado and assisted with a search warrant, and deputies continue to work closely with Colorado agencies.
Overman says they believe that the suspects are not from Nebraska and do not pose a threat to our area.
