Seagoville Flashback is a recurring feature revisiting notable moments from Seagoville’s past, drawn from official city and police records.
This week’s Seagoville Flashback looks back to January 2020, when a robbery at a local Family Dollar store set off a foot chase and a multi agency search that ended with the suspect located from the air.
According to a news release from the City of Seagoville, dated January 21, 2020, the Seagoville Police Department received a call on Sunday, January 19, 2020, around 8:50 PM, reporting a robbery in progress at the Family Dollar store located in the 100 block of Hall Road. Police said information was received that a male dressed in all black and wearing a mask was in the act of committing a robbery of the business while displaying a handgun to employees.
Witnesses reported the lone suspect fled the business after obtaining money from the store and ran behind the strip shopping center.
Responding officers encountered the described suspect and engaged in a brief foot chase. According to the release, the suspect evaded officers into a residential area, where a perimeter was quickly established to contain him. Assistance in locating and containing the suspect was provided by the Crandall Police Department, the Kaufman County Sheriff’s Department, the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department K9 unit, and the Texas Department of Public Safety Aircraft Division.
With assistance from TXDPS Air Support, the suspect was located hiding in the yard of a residence in the 1000 block of N Kaufman St. Officers were directed to the suspect’s location and he was apprehended without further incident.
Police said the mask, the currency stashed in a Family Dollar shopping bag, and the weapon used in the crime were recovered in proximity to where the suspect was found. It was later determined that the weapon used in the robbery was a replica toy pistol. The suspect’s vehicle was later discovered parked on a residential side street.
Roderick Wayne Nelson Jr, 35, of Glenn Heights, was jailed and charged with Aggravated Robbery, Evading Detention, and Failure to Identify as a Fugitive. According to the release, Nelson was being held in the Dallas County Jail at the time.
Looking back, this case illustrates the level of coordination between local and regional agencies that can come together in response to a serious incident, with air support ultimately proving key to bringing the search to a safe conclusion.
Source: City of Seagoville News Release, dated January 21, 2020. Contact listed: Captain S. Davis, Seagoville Police Department, (972) 287-6815.
