Sheriff: Columbus man robs gas station for second time

COLUMBUS, Ind. — A two-year stint on probation didn’t stop a Columbus man from once again returning to robbery — targeting the exact business he was arrested for stealing from in 2020.

Kobe Harmeson, 25, was arrested early Wednesday by deputies of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department after being quickly identified as the suspect in a gas station robbery.

According to the sheriff’s department, deputies were called to a Shell gas station located in the 11000 block of U.S. 31 shortly before 6:30 a.m. on report of a robbery. The clerk told police a suspect was wearing a mask and claimed to have a gun in his coat pocket.

The sheriff’s department said the vehicle the suspect left in had “easily identifiable characteristics” leading police to track down the suspect vehicle within less than a half hour. The vehicle was found outside a residence in the Tannehill Trailer Park less than one mile from the gas station.

Harmeson ended up being taken into custody and pegged as the robber by deputies. The sheriff’s department said Harmeson was arrested for burglarizing the same gas station four years ago in 2020.

Court records show Harmeson pleaded guilty to the burglary. He was handed down a two-year probation term as part of the plea deal.

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