Police said Pruden allegedly robbed a woman at gunpoint about 7 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of Vancouver Street.
Less than an hour later, in the 1800 block of Casper Street, two people had just arrived home when Pruden allegedly came to a stop in his pickup truck next to their vehicle. Police said Pruden, who was wearing a mask, got out of his truck and followed the people into their front yard, where he demanded money.
When one of the residents said he did not have any money on him, Pruden allegedly pulled out a gun and put it into his chest. The resident pulled out his wallet to show that he did not have any money, and Pruden then turned the gun at the other person and demanded the she give him all of her money, police said. When she said she didn’t have any money, Pruden got back into his truck and headed east on Casper Street toward Charles Street. Police arrived but could not locate Pruden’s truck.
Later in the evening, another robbery was reported on Stanley Street.
“By the third robbery, officers already had a good idea of his description, truck and gun and were looking for him,” said Police Maj. Scott Reeve. “All of the robberies were random. It’s rare for a guy to do three robberies in a row on the same day.”
When Pruden was arrested, he was found with a 9mm handgun with an extended magazine holding 30 rounds and cocaine, police said.
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In addition to the aggravated robbery charges, Pruden has also been charged with having weapons under disability, a third-degree felony, having a concealed weapon, a fourth-degree felony and drug abuse/cocaine, a fifth-degree felony. He is scheduled to appear in court at 2:30 p.m. Feb. 20 for preliminary hearings on those charges.
Reeve said that Pruden was convicted of aggravated robbery in 2010 and that a family member said he had been out for just a few weeks.
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