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Man found not guilty in string of robberies, arrested after chase

Charlotte authorities arrested Eric Orr after a chase early Sunday morning. Orr was tied to a string of robberies from three-and-a-half years ago when he was accused of wearing Halloween masks terrorizing clerks at convenience stores.

Witnesses couldn't say for sure he was the man who robbed them during his trial in the summer and the jury found him not guilty.

Orr was charged again with attacking a woman and taking her car at this motel, then robbing clerks at two convenience stores at gunpoint and threatening to kill them.

"That person needs to be prosecuted or caught," said Bill Richey, who lives next to one of those stores on Albemarle Road.

RELATED ARTICLE: Man wanted for string of armed robberies arrested after leading CMPD on chase

Tony Scheer, a defense attorney and former prosecutor, said if they weren’t convinced that the man behind the masks was Orr, the jury got it right in acquitting him.

"If you have a situation where a person's accused of a crime and no one saw their face, no DNA and no fingerprints, it's almost impossible to imagine getting a guilty verdict," Scheer said.

Those masked robberies could come back to haunt Orr in a trial on the new charges if prosecutors can show that the new cases are similar to those, Scheer said.

"Was he wearing a mask this time? That would be one of those things that would say this is a common scheme or plan," Scheer said.

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