North Haverhill
Michael Ray Laws, 32, is being held on $20,000 cash bail at the Grafton County jail following his arraignment in Grafton Superior Court in North Haverhill on Friday.
An affidavit obtained from the court says Laws told police in an interview he tried to rob the Family Dollar on Route 4 in order to get enough money to continue staying in the Upper Valley, which he came to from Myrtle Beach, S.C., to find work.
Laws allegedly had an airsoft pellet gun in the waistband of his pants when he demanded money from the clerk after asking for two packs of cigarettes, according to the affidavit written by Enfield police Sgt. Roy Holland.
The affidavit provides only a few more details about the robbery, chase and hunt through a neighborhood in Lebanon on Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
The chase involving a stolen Honda Civic reached speeds of 90 mph on Route 4 through Enfield before Laws allegedly abandoned the stolen vehicle he was driving on LaPlante Road in Lebanon. He then took off on foot into the backyard of a home and ran into the woods, the affidavit states.
Police found a white sneaker in the home’s backyard, a shoe similar to the one worn by the suspect during the robbery, they said.
Laws was arrested on Thursday around 11:30 a.m. after someone reported a suspicious man at the Listen Store on Hanover Street in Lebanon. The man was purchasing sneakers, according to the affidavit.
Laws had cuts and scrapes on his legs, which police say are likely from him running through the woods on Wednesday night.
The affidavit says Laws told police he stole the black Honda Civic from a dealership in Worcester, Mass., three days earlier.
Laws pleaded not guilty to two counts of attempted robbery, receiving stolen property, disobeying an officer and reckless conduct. Laws also has a warrant out for his arrest on a criminal sexual conduct charge in South Carolina.
The date of his next court hearing in North Haverhill wasn’t immediately known.
Jordan Cuddemi can be reached at jcuddemi@vnews.com or 603-727-3248.