Officers with the Benton Police Department are searching for a man accused of robbing a juvenile at gunpoint in a business parking lot Thursday night. Officers are searching for 18-year-old Christopher Marquese Henson of Benton. He is described as 6-feet tall, black male with black hair and brown eyes. Henson should be considered armed and dangerous. Anyone with information about his whereabouts should call 911 immediately.
At approximately 11:37 p.m. Thursday, the victim told officers that he rode with friends to the Walmart parking lot to meet up with another juvenile. He said after getting into another juvenile’s vehicle, Henson was in the back seat. The victim said Henson pulled out a handgun, pointed at his head, demanded he empty his pocket and also stole his cellphone. The victim said he then jumped out of the vehicle and ran back to a friend’s vehicle.
Officers conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle matching the description at the I-30 south service road and Airlane Drive, but Henson was not in the vehicle. Officers later found an identification card belonging to Henson in the backseat of the vehicle. The driver, 20-year-old Courtney Michael Small of Benton, was taken into custody and faces charges of Aggravated Robbery and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor. A juvenile passenger was also taken into custody and is expected to be charged with Aggravated Robbery by the Juvenile Probation Office.
A warrant has been issued for Henson for a charge of Aggravated Robbery, a class Y felony.
Anyone with information about the location of the suspect or information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Benton Police Department at 501-778-1171 or 501-315-TIPS. Individuals also may send us anonymous information to CRIMES (274637) with the keyword BNPD in the body of the text or go to www.crimereports.com to leave a tip. A crime tip can also be submitted via the official Benton Police Department app found on ITunes and Google Play.
Any suspects listed are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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