Bond Set In Armed Robbery And Kidnapping

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COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – The man accused of robbing a Columbus store and abducting a clerk made his first court appearance Thursday.

Autravious Gaston, 33,  is charged with armed robbery, kidnapping, and felony taking of a motor vehicle.

Gaston’s bond was set at $1,010,000 in municipal court.

Investigators say the West Point man held up the Military Road Sprint Mart at gunpoint early Wednesday morning.

He then took an employee hostage.

Police learned the car Gaston and the employee were in was stolen. The owner of the vehicle told investigators Gaston might be driving.

West Point officers found the unidentified employee at a business.

The Mercury Grand Marquis police were looking for was found at a West Point apartment complex.

Investigators say Gaston is no stranger to law enforcement.

“Mr. Gaston has had some previous charges of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery in the past. We found him, he was at Town Creek Apartments in West Point and he was hiding inside one of the apartments,” said Columbus Police Capt. Brent Swan.

Gaston and the employee did not know each other.

Police are not releasing any information about the employee’s condition or what happened to her during the kidnapping.