A tip from a Falls police patrol officer has led detectives to an arrest in connection with a LaSalle gas station robbery that left a clerk seriously injured.
Detectives with the Falls Police Criminal Investigation Division (CID) executed a search warrant at a home in the 200 block of 74th Street just after 3:30 p.m. Monday and took Darrion A. Cotton, 57, into custody. Cotton was charged with one count of first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree assault.
He was being held overnight at police headquarters and is expected to be arraigned on the charges later this morning in Falls City Court.
Detectives said a tip from Patrol Officer Joshua Salada provided “critical information” that led to Cotton’s arrest. Investigators said Salada had “a previous encounter with Cotton” and as a result of that encounter, he believed that Cotton should be a person of interest in the case.
“He felt that Cotton met some of the elements of what we were looking for,” an investigator said. “And he passed that information on to Detectives (Kevin) Henderson and (Kenneth) Redmond.”
Police brass said Henderson and Redmond, along with Crime Scene Unit (CSU) detectives were then able to develop a case that led to Cotton’s arrest.
Cotton is accused of entering as small store, part of a gas station complex at 63rd Street and Buffalo Avenue, near the north Grand Island Bridge exit of the I-190, at 7 a.m. Friday. The assault and robbery was captured on video by security cameras at the gas station.
Detectives said the video showed Cotton entering the small convenience store toward the rear of the gas station property. After entering the store, police said Cotton immediately attacked a 57-year-old female clerk, beating her violently about her head with a hammer.
“It was brutal and very difficult to watch,” one detective said of the video.”(The suspect) just walked in and hit her repeatedly in the head with a hammer.”
Police said the unidentified woman suffered “serious injuries” and was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center for treatment. The victim was then transferred to the Erie County Medical Center in Buffalo where she remains hospitalized.
Investigators said Cotton stole an undetermined amount of cash as well as cigarettes and other merchandise before leaving the store. Cotton was last seen in the video walking east on Buffalo Avenue from 68th Street.
Detectives said Salada knew that Cotton lived in the neighborhood near the gas station.
Police said that during the course of the robbery, a male customer, who was driving a black Acura sedan, came into the store. Detectives said the customer “had an interaction with the suspect” and the the suspect “appeared to pretend that he was the store clerk.”
CID detectives said they are still trying to locate the customer to talk to him about what he may have seen or what the suspect may have told him.
Detectives said that even with Cotton’s arrest, their investigation is continuing. They are asking anyone who may have seen Cotton or have information about the driver of the Acura, to contact them at 716-286-4553 or by calling the NFPD General Information Number at 716-286-4711.