Several suspects were arrested in two unrelated cases that both involved armed robberies.

One of the cases took place on Aug. 9, after deputies responded to a complaint that two people had been robbed at gunpoint along Emmett Meitzler Road, said Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department Chief Investigator Marc Ogden.

Deputies arrived and spoke with victims who said they were offered a ride by a woman and a man in a van, later identified as 30-year-old Kira Cyrstal Viverito of 37 Forest Lane, Carriere and 40-year-old Demetriun Shaska Pipkins of 48 Easy Street.

During the ride, Viverito drove the van to the end of a dead end road off of Emmett Meitzler Road where a man armed with a shotgun came out of the woods and robbed them of their money before leaving on foot.

The victims then exited the van and left on foot in the opposite direction of the man who robbed them while the van left the area, Ogden said.

While telling their story to the deputies, the victims speculated that the driver and passenger of the van worked in conjunction with the man with the shotgun.

A tip from the Picayune Police Department provided investigators with a possible location of Viverito. Ogden said that investigators and officers with both agencies went to that location, and saw the van being driven by Viverito with Pipkins still in the passenger seat. A stop was conducted and both suspects were taken into custody for questioning.

Ogden said that investigative techniques determined that the two suspects had planned the armed robbery with a third person, later identified as 34-year-old Stephen Brooks Raby.

The victims were asked to look at a series of photos, which confirmed Raby was the alleged gunman. Investigators then went to his home at 56 Shorty Burgess Rd., and took him into custody for felony armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and for a hold with the Mississippi Department of Corrections. 

Viverito was arrested for felony armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and for probation violation while Pipkins was arrested for felony armed robbery, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and two controlled substance violations, Ogden said.

A separate case of armed robbery was reported on Aug. 13, when the victim said a relative of hers came to her home on Rosemary Wheat Lane demanding money.

Knowing the man, identified as 35-year-old Chanse Michael Maher, of 3470 Highway 43 N., had a substance abuse problem, she declined to give him money, Ogden said. An argument ensued that led to Maher picking up a nearby hatchet and forcing her to give him any money in the home and the keys to her vehicle.

He was arrested by the Picayune Police Department that same day on unrelated offenses and the victim’s vehicle was towed. Ogden said that after investigators learned that Maher was in the Picayune Police Department’s custody, they went to the Criminal Justice Center and arrested him for armed robbery and recovered the credit cards, debit card and checkbook stolen by Maher. Maher is currrently being held in the county jail, Ogden said.