Car jacking, robbery leads to standoff at Rodeway Inn in Roanoke

ROANOKE, Va. – UPDATE: 

Police are charging an 18-year-old Lynchburg man and a young woman after a robbery and carjacking led to a standoff Wednesday morning. 

Alex James Joe now faces charges of robbery, carjacking, two charges of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, and credit card theft.

The young woman, who also lives in Lynchburg, faces the same charges. She is not being named because she is underage. 

It started at 1 a.m. Wednesday, when police responded to Market Square in Roanoke for a report of a robbery. A woman told them that she was walking back to a downtown restaurant after withdrawing cash from an ATM. While walking, she says she was approached by a Toyota sedan and a man got out of the passenger side of the car. She told police he pulled a mask over his face and pointed a gun at her. After taking her cash and bank card, she says he got back into the car, which headed east on Campbell Ave. 

The woman gave police a tag number for the car and said that a woman was driving. 

Around 3:45 a.m. Wednesday, that vehicle was found unoccupied in the parking lot of the Rodeway Inn on Orange Ave. Police determined that the car was stolen in a carjacking in Lynchburg at 9:45 p.m. Tuesday. 

Officers were able to find out which hotel room the suspects were renting. The suspects would not come out of the room. More officers responded to the scene and eventually they were able to make contact with the suspects. They were taken into custody around 7:40 a.m. 

A small child was in the room but was not hurt. Child Protective Services was called to the scene to help. 

Evidence from both incidents was recovered from inside the car, according to police. 

The two suspects were taken to the Roanoke Police Department. The Lynchburg Police Department is also involved in the investigation. 

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UPDATE: Police say this all started after a car jacking in Lynchburg, and then a robbery in Roanoke. 

Police took two people into custody just before 8 a.m. Wednesday after a standoff at the Rodeway Inn. Police first arrived at the motel around 3:45 a.m.

Police say there was a child in the room at the time, but it was all resolved peacefully. The child is OK. 

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UPDATE: Police have arrested a man and woman, bringing the standoff at the Rodeway Inn to a peaceful end. 

Police are clearing the scene now. 

We're working to get more details on the nature of the incident. 

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Roanoke police are responding to an incident at the Rodeway Inn in Roanoke Wednesday morning. 

Police have been on scene since about 3:45 a.m. at the motel near the intersection of Orange Ave. and Williamson Road, according to a Roanoke City dispatch supervisor. 

Officers are on the second level of the motel with their guns drawn. It appears that they are trying to bust down a door. 

There are at least eight patrol officers on scene. A SWAT team is also there, along with an armored vehicle. 

Dispatch was not able to give any information yet on the nature of the incident. 

The Starbucks next door is closed due to the incident. 

10 News has a crew there learning more. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.