๐๐จ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐๐ข๐ ๐๐๐ง ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ซ ๐๐ฐ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ
๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐: ๐จ๐๐ ๐๐๐
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๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐. ๐ช๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐
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๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐.
On July 11, 2026, officers with the Columbia Police Department responded to the 600 block of Claudell Lane in reference to an armed robbery. The victim reported he drove to Columbia from Sullivan, Missouri, to purchase a black Glock 19 pistol that had been posted for sale on Facebook Marketplace. The victim stated he arranged the meeting through text messages with a person using a Facebook account he believed was fake.
The victim told officers he arrived on Claudell Lane and met with the suspect. He stated he gave the suspect $400 in cash to purchase the Glock pistol. After receiving the money, the suspect allegedly pulled out a purple Taurus or Smith & Wesson pistol, pointed it at the victim, and repeatedly told him to "go back to your car."
The victim reported that he feared for his life when the pistol was pointed at him. He described the suspect as a skinny black male wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, gray sweatpants, black socks, black slide sandals, and carrying a black Louis Vuitton bag.
On July 16, detectives spoke with a witness whose son was friends with Lance Dereon Graves. The witness stated Graves came to the residence frequently and provided detectives with a telephone number for him. The witness also confirmed she had recently spoken with Graves by calling that number.
That same day, detectives received an Instagram video that showed a separate armed robbery. According to the probable cause statement, the video showed Graves pointing a purple Taurus GX2 pistol at a juvenile victim while yelling at him, threatening him, and demanding that he remove his clothing. Graves allegedly demanded the juvenile remove a black stocking cap, black zip-up Nike jacket or sweatshirt, black pants, and black shoes. The clothing was reported stolen. In the video, Graves allegedly said, "give me that Nike Tech too gang," referring to the juvenile's jacket. He then allegedly said, "I need that gang, before I mother fucking kill you gang."
Graves also allegedly referenced the juvenile's older brother and stated, "Tell little king ass nigga he gonna get did the same way gang." The probable cause statement says Graves moved the handgun closer to the juvenile's chest and ordered him to say "fuck JC" and "fuck DQ." Investigators reported the juvenile complied and appeared afraid.
detectives noted the juvenile's voice was shaky, and he appeared as though he was about to cry. After the juvenile was stripped down to a T-shirt and underwear, Graves allegedly allowed him to leave.
Investigators reported the video was not recorded by Graves. At least four other people were present and surrounding the juvenile. The video was uploaded to an Instagram account that investigators stated was associated with a relative of Graves.
After reviewing the video, investigators determined the robbery occurred in the 2200 block of Thomas Drive. Investigators reported the address was associated with a small white shed, and the house visible across the street in the video matched the location.
Additional video footage was obtained from a nearby residence, which captured the robbery near the shed. Shortly after the robbery, the juvenile was seen leaving east on Thomas Drive, while the suspects left west. Investigators reported the suspects could be heard joking and laughing about what they made the juvenile do.
Detectives, a confidential informant, and employees with the Boone County Juvenile Justice Center identified the suspect in the Instagram video as Graves. They also identified the victim as a 14-year-old juvenile. Detectives contacted the juvenile's guardians, who stated the juvenile had told them he was robbed of his clothing at gunpoint on July 11, 2026, around midnight in Columbia. Investigators noted that Graves had a purple Taurus pistol in the video, matching the description of the pistol reported by the victim in the first robbery.
Detectives later spoke with the juvenile's grandmother, who stated the juvenile was staying at her residence the night of the robbery. She reported he asked to go to a friend's house a couple of blocks away and returned around midnight wearing only a black T-shirt and underwear. She stated the juvenile told her he had just been robbed by a group of people near the friend's house.
Investigators also reported that a Cash App search connected the telephone number used in the investigation to the name "Dereon Graves." Phone records obtained from AT&T showed a device associated with the number was in the area of the Thomas Drive robbery and the Claudell Lane robbery.
Investigators note that Graves had been arrested on May 14, 2024, for tampering with a motor vehicle in the first degree and resisting arrest. Graves had also been arrested for burglary in the second degree on Aug. 20, 2024. Graves was convicted of those charges on Dec. 16, 2024, and was on probation.
Graves is now charged with two counts of robbery in the first degree and two counts of armed criminal action.
๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒย ๐๐ป๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป:
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