A man wanted for robbing a Rocky Mount-area store last week is dead, shot and killed after a police pursuit in Alabama. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office say 32-year-old Sanders Surber of Martinsville was also a suspect the holdup of four people the next day. Officials say Surber was driving a vehicle stolen from Henry County when he was pursued and then fatally shot in Alabama.
From the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office: On October 18, 2017 , the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office began an investigation into an armed robbery that occurred at Dollar General, 1417 Virgil H. Goode Hwy. On October 19, 2017, another armed robbery of four individuals occurred in the 1500 block of Patti Rd. in Franklin County. Three individuals arranged a meeting with a subject in order to purchase drugs but planned to rob the subject of drugs and money. Investigators with the Sheriff’s Office quickly developed several suspects in the armed robbery on Patti Rd. 32-year-old Sanders Surber of Martinsville was charged with four counts of armed robbery and one count of use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. 35-year-old Michael Gillispie of Union Hall and Derrick Phillippe, 31, of Ferrum were charged with four counts of robbery each. During the investigation of the Patti Rd. robbery, Sheriff’s Office investigators developed Surber as a suspect in the Dollar General robbery, through witness statements. On October 26, 2017 Surber was shot and killed by law enforcement after a police pursuit in Fairhope, Alabama. At the time of the pursuit, Surber was driving a stolen PT Cruiser from Henry County, VA. Phillippe is currently being held in the Franklin County Jail and Gillispie is currently being held in the Western Virginia Regional Jail. Both robberies are still under investigation.
