Andalusia man charged with robbing Dollar General

William Shane Cowart – Photo from Andalusia Police Department

Andalusia police say they’ve arrested a man in the robbery of the Dollar General on River Falls Street.

Police say 43-year-old William Shane Cowart of Andalusia is charged with first degree robbery, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia. His bond was set at $215,000.

Police say Cowart was arrested within an hour after officers responded to a call at the store at about 9:45 Monday night. Clerks reported a masked male with a handgun had entered the store, made contact with the clerks and ran away with an undisclosed amount of money. 

Andalusia police got help from the Covington County Sheriff’s Department Reserves tracking team. They tracked the suspect to the area of Packer Avenue/Packer Field, police said. 

Police say they made contact at a home, got a search warrant and found the shoes and clothing they say Cowart was wearing at the time of the robbery. 

In executing the search warrant, police say they found a small amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia in the pants Cowart is believed to have been wearing along with other evidence. 

Police Chief Paul Hudson said Cowart was on federal probation for drug charges at the time of his arrest.