Derrick Newbolt, 22, was arrested Thursday on two preliminary counts of robbery, according to a Bloomington Police Department arrest report.
Newbolt reportedly robbed a CVS store Monday, Feb. 9, and Wild Side Smoke Shop on Wednesday, Lt. John Kovach said.
An employee at the smoke shop who was working at the time of the robbery believed that the partially masked man who robbed the store was an individual who goes by the nickname of “French Gambino,” because a male with that nickname had been inside the business asking many of the same questions the suspect asked during the robbery.
A BPD detective investigating the robbery recognized the nickname as one that belonged to Newbolt.
Officers discovered that Newbolt had posted a picture on Instagram of him holding a black and gold semiautomatic handgun that matched the description of the one from the robberies.
Victims of the robberies picked Newbolt out of a photo lineup with 90-95 percent certainty, Lt. Kovach said.
BPD contacted United States marshals for assistance in finding Newbolt, and they located him in Castleton, Ind., Lt. Kovach said.
The marshals arrested him and found the black and gold handgun on his person. BPD detectives then took Newbolt into custody and drove him back to Bloomington, where he was transported to Monroe County Jail.
Andy Wittry
