laurel hill youth charged with armed robbery

Robert Gage Cadenhead, age 17, of Laurel Hill, will be charged as an adult for the armed robbery of the Penny Mart in Lockhart, AL.  On April 22, 2008, Cadenhead entered the Penny Mart wearing a mask and armed with a gun and demanded the clerk put all the money in the register into a bag.  Once he had the money, Cadenhead fled the scene on foot and ran towards Chippewa Street in Lockhart.  A lady leaving her aunt and uncle's house saw Cadenhead run from the store removing the mask and attempting to hide the firearm and flipped her car around and pursued Cadenhead until he ran behind a group of houses.  Once she saw the direction of his travel she went back to the store and reported to authorities his direction of travel and verified that he had a weapon when she spotted him running from the scene.  Law enforcement officers arrived on scene within three minutes of the 911 call with agencies from throughout Covington County converging on the small quiet town to locate and apprehend the armed man.  A Florala Police Officer chased the suspect into a wooded area and secured the perimeter until a K-9 unit from the Covington County Sheriff's Department arrived and Covington County Sheriff's Deputy Vernon Cowart and K-9 handler Chad Clarke and his partner Tracker were able to locate the suspect hiding in a fiberglass grain silo behind the Zorn Brothers fertilizer plant. After the suspect was apprehended by law enforcement officials authorities also discovered a gym bag containing a pellet gun belonging to the suspect.  Cadenhead also allegedly admitted he was the suspect that robbed the Paxton Tom Thumb with a gun several weekends ago.  Cadenhead is being charged as an adult and will face charges in Walton County Florida after Alabama finishes with him.  His take from the Tom Thumb in Paxton was around $200 and he got $305 from the Penny Mart, which was recovered. Lockhart Police Chief Tim Hardage expressed his sincere appreciation for all the assistance other agencies provided in quickly apprehended the suspect. Those agencies assisting in the manhunt were the Covington County Sheriff's Department, Florala Police Department, Covington County Sheriff's Possee, Walton County Sheriff's Department and the Hartford Police Department.

[Jessica Lowery]

I went to school with Gage Cadenhead here at Paxton High School(where he was a senior). I want you all to know that Gage is a really nice and caring person although he did rob the Penny Mart in Florala and the Tom Thumb in Paxton. He knows what he did was wrong and he accepts that. Lets just remember that EVERYONE makes mistakes!!

[ashley b]

gage is my boyfriend and ive known him for 3 years...and he realy does some dum stuff but is also a very good guy. and ya he robbed those stores with a gun but everyone that knows him knows that he wouldnt have hurt anyone.

[anonymous]

he needs to learn how to grow up and realize that getting in trouble like this is gonna get him nowhere in life.as for the girlfriend, dont let him bring you down with him.

[anonmous]

Cops racing around, citizens in pursuit, someone could have been killed trying to chase him down. Not to mention how scared the victims are. Nice guy maybe, selfish for sure, stupid decision.

[corbin]

i love gage to death he when ever we smoke he knows that he still has to go to church so he does

[hah]

omg I laugh everytime I read this, I look at this litteraly to get a good laugh so...(continued)hahahahahahaha hahahahahhahahhahaHAHAHA..haha

[WHATEVER]

I KNOW THAT HE IS A PERSON BUT HE CAN SAY HE MADE A MISTAKE WITH ONE STORE BUT TWO? HE KNEW EVERYTHING HE DID AND DID NOT CARE ABOUT ANYONE BUT HIMSELF. HE COULD HAVE GOT SOMEONE KILLED OR SOMEONE COULD HAVE KILLED HIM. I CAN NOT UNDERSTAND WHY YOU MAKE EXCUSES FOR SOMEONE WHEN IT DID IT MORE THAN ONCE. WHAT IF THE CLERK HAD A GUN AND SHOT AND KILLED HIM? THEN YOU WOULD BE ON HERE DOWNING THE CLERK? HAVE YOU EVER HAD A GUN POINTED AT YOU AND THINKING THAT YOU MIGHT NOT EVER SEE YOUR FAMILY? I THINK THAT HE SHOULD BE TREATED LIKE AN ADULT..HE WANTED TO ACT LIKE ONE, SO THROW THE BOOK AT HIM.

[Pastor Heath]

I would just like to say looking from the outside in that I would probably say normally that I wish this young man was punished from the fullest extent of the law, however I know this guy very well! I am very saddened by the ridiculous decisions he has made and am glad he got caught, because I am on the side of Justice! I hope he truly wakes up and changes his life because he truly is a teddy bear even though he sounds like a hard character through the information in front of you! He was very involved in our youth group and even helped out our elderly in our church family doing yard work and things around their houses since they could not get out and do things on their own! This is not the young man I know and pray that the courts will have mercy on him! I believe anytime that he gets will be a huge wake up call! Please pray for him!!!!!!!!!!

[jel]

anonymous wrote:

he needs to learn how to grow up and realize that getting in trouble like this is gonna get him nowhere in life.as for the girlfriend, dont let him bring you down with him.

it was a B.B GUN!!

[peanut butter]

he's an idiot. yeah he makes stupid decisions because he doesnt even seem to care about anything in life. i hope he learns his lesson and its his fault if he ends up in jail for 10+ years because maybe if he didnt do drugs n stuff and hang out with bad influences he wouldn't have ever gotten himself into such a horrible situation. some people just never learn...*tisk* *tisk*

[peanutbutta]

jel wrote:

<quoted text> it was a B.B GUN!!

he's an idiot. yeah he makes stupid decisions because he doesnt even seem to care about anything in life. i hope he learns his lesson and its his fault if he ends up in jail for 10+ years because maybe if he didnt do drugs n stuff and hang out with bad influences he wouldn't have ever gotten himself into such a horrible situation. some people just never learn...*tisk**tisk*

[Sam Anderson]

I know Gage personally and I know what he did was a wrong thing, and I think he does deserve to do time behind bars. But on the other hand I know the real Gage and the person he is on the inside and I know that isn't who he really is. He's too much of a follower and that's what got him where he is today. I'm not going to blame anyone for his actions but he should have had better friends than the ones he did have. I saw him today in jail and I know he's hurting on the inside, I miss who he used to be and how he would always light up a room. He means a lot to me and I know that he has a good heart he just gets derailed easily.

[sarah]

Gage is my close cousin and i love him very much.... All his life he wanted to join the marines....He messed up but he deserves a second chance...... I write him all the time and he writes back. All he wants to do is make up for all of the bad things he's done.

[Florala Resident]

I am from Florala and when I saw this story I could not believe that people are making excuses for his actions and praying that the court's go easy on him. Since he is a young guy I hope that they prosecute him to the fullest extent and hopefully that will be a wake up call for him. If he is such a "nice" person then maybe he will lern from his mistakes but if he is let off easy then he will not. Not only that but he has done this not once but twice. He obvioulsy thought it was OK to do it a second time since there were no consequences the first time until it was traced back to him. Sadly some people only learn when they actually have to pay for their mistakes.

[Florala Resident]

Just curious? Was the money stolen with the intent of purchasing drugs? As for the "girlfriend". I am assuming that you are a nice young lady that has gotten involved with the wrong kind of guy. I pray that you can see that he is not the kind of young man that you need to be spending time with. He is in serious trouble right now but you have the chance to move on and learn from his mistakes. Do not get caught up in this mess. Get your head right and make better decisions for yourself. Do good in school and go to college. Become a strong independant young woman and set your standards higher. Do not end up pregnant by some boy that is in jail while you are living in a run down trailer surviving on food stamps and welfare. I am not putting you down because I remember being young and in love but please think of your future.

[Andalusia Girl]

If you Don't know Gage then don't cut him down!Gage is a very good person at heart!!! You don't know what he's been through.......I Do i was there for him and he was there for me because we went through bascially the same things....... For his girlfriend.....He's told me about you and he wants me to meet you..... I know how he feels about you and im so happy that he has someone to think about while he's in jail. Gage is gonna get out soon and I have so much FAITH in him......That's what we all need is FAITH and TRUST that he will be better when he gets out...... If This world would just BELIEVE in each other we would be a lot better off. LIFE does get better....... But we have to realize life has it's ups and downs...... Gage went through one of his many downfalls.....We are all gonna make mistakes escpecially when all our life that's what we are taught to do.......Just BELIEVE in him!!!!!!!!!!

[Someone]

GAGE GETS OUT IN 14 MONTHS!!!! IM SO HAPPY I MISS HIM SO MUCH!!!! HE'S GONNA DO MUCH BETTER I HAVE FAITH IN HIM!!!!!!!! PLEASE PRAY FOR HIM TO NOT MESS UP UNTIL HE GETS OUT!!!!!