BILLINGS - A man accused of committing two Billings armed robberies in as many days was charged Wednesday in Yellowstone County District Court.
Felix Robert Larance, 42, pleaded not guilty to two counts of felony robbery at an arraignment hearing. His bond was set at $100,000.
The first robbery was reported Dec. 14 at the Maverick Casino on 14th Street West. According to court records, a casino employee reported that a man wearing dark clothing with a beanie cap and face mask entered the business and demanded cash at gunpoint. The employee said the man fled after he was given $461 in cash.
A casino customer reported seeing the robber pull up to the front of the casino in a car before entering the business.
The second robbery was reported on Dec. 16 at the Sinclair Quickstop on Broadwater Avenue. A clerk reported that a man wearing a green sweater hoodie and a face mask entered the store armed with a handgun and demanded money. The clerk gave the man about $100 in cash and the man left the store. A newly-installed security system captured the robbery on video.
Larance was arrested on Dec. 18, according to court records, when a police officer spotted a stolen vehicle parked outside a casino on Midland Road. Larance had been identified as a suspect in the stolen vehicle, and he was arrested after the officer located him inside the casino.
A search of the vehicle turned up a realistic-looking BB gun pistol that Larance allegedly later admitted to using during the two robberies. Larance reportedly told a detective he had been unemployed since Thanksgiving "and is addicted to alcohol and methamphetamine and was in need of money to support his addictions," court records state.
Larance was previously charged on Tuesday with vehicle theft and drug offenses.
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