‘Pajama pants robber’ who stole cash, candy at stores charged, Richland sheriff said
The man behind a string of armed robberies has been caught, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.
Sheriff Leon Lott said his deputies arrested 33-year-old Deveon Antonio Belk on Tuesday at his home without incident.
Belk committed at least five armed robberies in Richland County and the Columbia area in October and November, according to investigators. During some of the robberies, he bought candy then pulled a gun on store clerks, deputies said.
At times, Belk robbed stores in blue-plaid pajama pants, which prompted investigators to nickname him the “pajama pants robber,” Lott said.
“He’s wearing an orange jumpsuit at the Richland County detention center now,” Lott said. “Hopefully for a long time.”
Deputies booked Belk at Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where he remained as of Wednesday afternoon, awaiting a bond hearing.
Lott announced the arrest Wednesday afternoon at a news conference at the department’s headquarters.
The department charged Belk with five counts of armed robbery and three counts of kidnapping. Investigators suspect he may be responsible for 21 armed robberies across the Midlands over the last four weeks, Lott said. Eight of those robberies happened in Richland County. Others were in Columbia, Irmo and Lexington County.
Investigators are working to confirm that Belk was responsible for the other robberies, Lott said.
Belk’s crime spree began in October, police said. On Oct. 25 he held up a cashier at a Shell gas station on North Main Street, deputies said. Belk appeared to have a gun in his pocket and told the cashier to empty the register. After getting the money, Belk locked the cashier in the men’s bathroom, according to the department.
He struck again on Nov. 10, this time at a Dollar General on Two Notch Road, Lott said. The store is less than a mile from the Richland County Sheriff’s Department headquarters. Belk bought candy, and when the cashier opened the register, he pointed a gun at her and demanded she give him all the money. After taking the money, Belk ordered her to the back of the store, according to investigators.
Five days later, Belk hit up the SKS mini-mart on Decker Boulevard, deputies said. Belk asked the clerk for a lighter and cigarettes before laying a handgun on the counter with his finger on the trigger. The clerk handed over cash as Belk demanded and he walked her at gunpoint into a closet at the back of the store, according to the department.
The next day, Nov. 16, Belk robbed another Dollar General, this time on Broad River Road, Lott said. He bought chocolates then pulled out a gun when the register opened and demanded money. He forced the clerk into the bathroom at gunpoint, according to investigators.
Just before Lott’s news conference, deputies charged Belk with another November armed robbery at a BP gas station on Two Notch Road.
The Columbia Police Department, Irmo Police Department and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department are assisting in the investigation of the remaining robberies, Lott said.
If guilty, a person can be punished with 30 years in prison for each armed robbery charge.
Belk has “a history of breaking the law,” Lott said.
Court records show that in March 2019, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department charged Belk with first degree assault and battery, domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and threatening someone’s life.
Belk was out of jail on bond from the 2019 charges, according to court records and police.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 2:12 PM.