Bartlesville police are arresting a suspect in reference to an armed robbery that occurred Sunday night at the Tropical Smoothie Cafe.
Captain Jay Hastings said investigators arrested Latifah Sade Clark, 30, who was a store employee and working at the time of the robbery. Hastings says Clark confessed to conspiring with Christopher James Taylor to rob the business. He says Clark has been charged with conspiracy to commit a felony and joint robbery.
At approximately 9:40 p.m. on July 10, an armed suspect entered through the back door of the Tropical Smoothie Café located at 3315 SE Frank Phillips. The video indicates that the back door was held open by Clark and shows a man entering through the back door pointing a handgun at two other employees before withdrawing cash from the office.
Captain Hastings says the BPD collected the plans of the two suspects before the flight. He says phone conversations related to the theft have been filed as evidence.
Police are currently looking for Christopher James Taylor, 28 (shown below) and have probable cause to arrest him for committing the theft. Taylor is described as a black man, 5’11, 180 pounds, with brown eyes and black hair.
Anyone with information on the whereabouts of Christopher James Taylor is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 918.336.2583 (CLUE) or the Bartlesville Police Department at 918.338.4001. Detective Steven Johnson is assigned to the case and can be reached at 918.338.4061.
Captain Hastings says robberies are rare in Bartlesville, but the BPD is prepared for anything that comes along. Hastings says general public safety remains intact despite this incident. He says investigators immediately saw the back door propped up as a red flag and believe the crime that was committed was an inside job.
If a thief doesn’t know an area where they’re committing a crime, Captain Hastings says they’ll usually ransack a building to get what they want. Hastings says that was not the case in this case. He says the efficiency Taylor allegedly displayed led the BPD to believe he had insider information because he seemed to know where the money was kept as he was in and out of the cafe in no time. minutes.
Captain Hastings says it takes a community to solve these types of crimes. Hastings thanks the community for assisting the BPD in their efforts to detain the robbery suspect. He says the BPD has been working tirelessly since Sunday evening to close this case.
