‘You’re not going to threaten my son’: Victim’s mother has message for E-Town robbery suspects

ELIZABETHTOWN, Ky. (WAVE) - Elizabethtown Police is searching for two men accused of committing five armed robberies in 45 minutes at various locations around the city.

Department spokesperson Chris Denham told WAVE News the robberies happened at the Towne Mall, the Peddlers Mall and two apartment complexes not far away. Denham said one of the suspects, a young Black man in a mask and dark clothes, jumped out of a black Cadillac SUV with a gun and demanded the victims’ belongings.

Denham said during the final crime, the suspects took off with the victim’s light gray 2020 Dodge Challenger. Police are still searching for the vehicle.

“This is Elizabethtown,” Denham said. “These type of things do not happen here. As a whole, our citizens look out for one another. They take care of one another. They take a great deal of pride in this community. So for this to happen is very alarming and is not something we will take lightly.”

One of the victims was 18-year-old Perri Newill.

Newill and his friend were leaving a shoe store near the Peddlers Mall Friday when he told WAVE News a man approached them, put a gun to his head and demanded his possessions.

His mother, Deanna Newill, told WAVE he called her right after the incident.

“He called me and that was a bad phone call to get, because he was like, ‘Mom, we just got robbed,’” Newill said. “And I was shocked. I’m like, ‘No, you didn’t.’ He’s like ‘For real.’ I’m like ‘Where you at?’ And he’s told me that he was in the shoe store in E-Town.”

Newill said the thieves made off with her son’s wallet filled with his ID, debit card and $2 in cash; plus the empty shoe boxes they thought were full.

Perri Newill and his friend drove to the Elizabethtown Police Department, where officers informed them several other people were in their shoes.

As police search for the suspects, Newill is happy to have her son at home and alive.

However, she still has a message for the people who put a gun to his head over a pair of shoes.

“They have my address,” Newill said. “They have my son’s driver’s license. Or, they know my name now. Just type me up. Come find me. Because you’re not going to threaten my son.”

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