Arrest made in connection with robberies in Barry and Quincy

May 13, 2021 | By Muddy River News

Image courtesy of Pike County Sheriff's Department

UPDATE:

Late Thursday night, Quincy Police arrested an Adams County, Illinois man in connection with robberies at Barry and Quincy.

QPD arrested 33-year-old Richard Benhke of Coatsburg near 9th and State in Quincy around 11:30 p.m.

Behnke allegedly used a screwdriver (the tool, not the drink) as a weapon in robberies at the Jiffi Stop in Barry and the North 12th Street Dollar General in Quincy.

Behnke is in the Adams County Jail, where he awaits formal charges.

Also, from the Pike County Sheriff’s Department:

On May 13, shortly after 9:00 PM, law enforcement located a crashed vehicle on I-72 at approximately Mile Post 13. No subjects were located at the scene of the crash. This vehicle is suspected as being driven by the suspect involved in the recent burglary at the Barry Jiffi Stop and Dollar General in Quincy.

A short time later, the Pike County Sheriff’s Department began receiving calls of a male subject knocking on doors in Hull trying to get a ride. Law enforcement began searching Hull and the surrounding area for the subject.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department later received a call from the Quincy Police Department advising the suspect identified as 33-year-old Richard A. Behnke of Coatsburg Illinois was arrested in Quincy. Behnke is suspected of being the person involved in the Burglary at Jiffi Stop in Barry.

Pike County, Illinois, Sheriff David Greenwood said his deputies were investigating an incident that happened Wednesday morning at the Jiffi Stop in Barry, Illinois.

Greenwood added the same man was seen at the New Canton, Illinois, One Stop a short time later.

Then in the afternoon, police were investigating a similar incident in the afternoon at the Dollar General store at 2614 N 12th St. in Quincy.

Police said Benhke stolen an undisclosed amount of money from the cash register from the Dollar General in Quincy.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department and the Quincy Police Department may be searching for the same man who committed a robbery on Wednesday.

The Pike County Sheriff’s Department was dispatched to the Jiffi Stop in Barry, Ill., at 5:29 a.m. after a complaint of a robbery. The investigation revealed a white or Hispanic male came into the Jiffi Stop, walked to the cash register, opened it, removed cash and walked out. Contact with store personnel was not made.

The person was seen at the One Stop in New Canton, Ill., a short time later.

The Quincy Police Department also is investigating a similar incident that occurred Wednesday at the Dollar General, 2614 N. 12th, in Quincy. That incident may be related to the Pike County incidents. No information about that case was released by QPD as of Wednesday afternoon.

Anyone with information about either incident in Pike County should call the sheriff’s department at 217-285-5011 or Pike County Crime Stoppers at 217-285-1500 to make an anonymous report. If the information you provide leads to an arrest, you will be eligible for a cash reward. Information about the Dollar General investigation can be provided to the Quincy Police Department at 217-222-9360.