By Meghan McCormick
The Norman Transcript
Norman — Norman police have arrested one of three men suspected of robbing a Mr. Short Stop convenience store last month.
Investigators arrested John Clark Lair Jr., 38, of Norman, on Tuesday. He was booked into the Cleveland County Detention Center at 2 p.m., according to the jail roster.
Cleveland County prosecutors have charged Lair and another Norman man in connection with the Feb. 8 robbery at Mr. Short Stop, 920 24th Ave SW.
Lair and James Edward Nolan, 21, also of Norman, were charged with conspiracy and robbery with a weapon. Court records show Lair and Nolan also were charged with unlawfully wearing mask or hood, a misdemeanor.
Arrest warrants were issued Monday for both men, according to court records.
Norman Police Master Officer Jennifer Newell said police still are searching for Nolan and a third suspected robber.
Norman police said the robbery happened about 9:45 p.m. Feb. 8. Three men entered the store and took beer and a small amount of cash.
In a probable cause affidavit that accompanied charges against Lair, Norman Police Detective Corey Lambrecht said one suspect held a shotgun during the robbery while the other two suspects walked behind the store’s counter and took money from the register.
“The suspect holding the gun was wearing a hooded sweatshirt (hood up) and a red bandana over his lower face,” Lambrecht said. “His upper face is clearly visible.”
Lambrecht said the robbery was recorded on video via the store’s security cameras.
Through his investigation, Lambrecht said he learned Lair drank with Nolan and became intoxicated on the night of the robbery. Lambrecht viewed photos of Lair and saw a resemblance between his face and the gunman’s face in the robbery video, according to the affidavit.
Lambrecht said he created a photo-lineup of six people and included Lair’s photograph in the lineup, the affidavit stated. Lambrecht showed the photos to the clerk who identified Lair from the lineup.
According to the affidavit, Lambrecht interviewed Lair’s mother and showed her images from the robbery video.
“She also identified the gunman in the video as her son, John Clark Lair Jr. She also identified another suspect in the robbery as James Nolan, a friend of Lair,” the affidavit stated.
Lambrecht said he interviewed Lair about the robbery and he denied involvement. Lair ended the interview and requested a lawyer shortly after Lambrecht showed him images from the video surveillance, according to the affidavit.
“Based upon meeting John Lair in person, I also can testify his appearance and voice match the suspect holding the gun in the video,” Lambrecht said in the affidavit.
According to an affidavit filed with charges against Nolan, the two suspects who walked behind the store counter during the robbery physically assaulted the clerk.
Lambrecht said he interviewed four people who have seen the video of the robbery. They identified Nolan as another suspect, according to the affidavit.
Lambrecht said he spoke with Nolan about the robbery. Nolan did not confess to the crime, the affidavit stated.
“Based upon meeting James Nolan in person, I also can testify that his appearance matches the suspect seen in the video whose hood comes down when fighting with the clerk,” Lambrecht said.
Meghan McCormick 366-3539 mmccormick@normantranscript.com
