Tyler Police have arrested a suspect they believe pulled a gun on an 82-year-old woman as she attempted to return a book to the Tyler Public Library on Sunday afternoon.

Elliott Bernard West Jr., 21, who has an extensive criminal record with at least 19 previous arrests, was taken into custody Tuesday at his grandmother’s house in Tyler.

Don Martin, Public Information Officer says several circumstances led to Elliott’s arrest, including a similar incident that occurred Saturday in the parking lot of a physician’s office on Clinic Drive. Martin said the suspect pointed a gun to a man’s head demanding money.

Martin said the big break in the case came when an officer recalled a man fitting the suspect’s description was spotted Sunday afternoon running to Marvin United Methodist Church.

When the officer approached West, he told the officer he wanted to join the church. The officer took him inside, and while waiting for someone from the church to meet them inside, West ducked into a bathroom and fled. Officers later recovered a BB gun in the bathroom, the same weapon used in both hold-ups.

No injuries were reported in either incident.

West is jailed on a $750,000 bond and charged with aggravated robbery.

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