Suspect arrested in robbery at knife point

Officers arrested a man suspected of robbing a woman at knife point inside a Sedalia coin operated laundry.

Nathan W. Dotson, 22, of Sedalia, was arrested at 8:49 p.m. Wednesday in the 700 block of East Fifth Street, according to Sedalia Police Department reports.

He was charged Thursday morning with first-degree robbery, a class A felony, and felony armed criminal action. Dotson was in Pettis County Jail in lieu of $300,000 bond.

Deanna Muse, 50, reported about 3:45 p.m. Monday she was robbed of $250 while at the coin operated laundry at 1701 E. Broadway Blvd. She told officers a white man in his early 20s with a large knife demanded money, took the cash and left.

Muse recognized the man from seeing him in her neighborhood, but didn’t know his name. According to a probable cause statement written by Sedalia Det. Ron Parrish, Muse identified Dotson from a photograph.

“We had viewed close to 100 photos when she pointed to a photo of Nathan W. Dotson,” Parrish wrote in his statement. “Muse immediately told me she was certain this is the boy who robbed her.”

Dotson told officers he met with his probation officer at 1 p.m. or 2 p.m. the day of the robbery, according to court documents. Dotson is on supervised probation for a previous felony stealing charge. He was ordered to pay restitution under the terms of his probation, and he is unemployed, Parrish wrote in his statement.

Dotson is the father of Dana Bruce’s children. Bruce has been missing for nearly three months, sparking a police investigation into her disappearance and searches by volunteers, family and friends.

snail@sedaliademocrat.com