Two Joplin men arrested after alleged armed robbery

Two men from Joplin were arrested after an alleged armed robbery. Read the full press release below:

On June 10th, 2020, at approximately 5:00 pm, Officers with the Joplin Police Department
responded to Threads at 1302 S. Virgina Avenue for a report of an armed robbery that had just
occurred.

Two males were inside the business and one of them began concealing merchandise.
When confronted by the store employees, both males exited the store and went to a vehicle. The
store employee followed the suspects to the vehicle and one of them pulled out an AR style rifle
and displayed it at the store employee in a threatening manner. Both suspect fled the scene in a
white Cadillac.

A short time later at approximately 6:48 pm, deputies with the Newton County Sheriff’s Office located the suspects at 123 W 45th Street and were able to take them into custody without further incident. Both suspects were turned over to Joplin Officers and transported to the Joplin City Jail.

The suspects were identified as Marvin E. Ward Jr., age 26, and Elijah J. Ward, age 22, both of Joplin. On June 11th, charges of Robbery in the 1st Degree were filed against both suspects, each with a $50,000 cash only bond.