Opelika man charged with robbing two stores in Lee County

An Opelika man has been charged with robbing a grocery store and a Dollar General in the Beauregard community of Lee County.

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office says 23-year-old Cortaveus Eiland is charged with robbery in the first degree.

Last night at about 9:15, deputies were called to an armed robbery at Mike’s Grocery in the 4000 block of Lee County Road 166.

Deputies say the clerk told them that a man wearing dark clothing and sunglasses grabbed a Sprite from the cooler and walked to the register. The man pulled what appeared to be a handgun inside of a bag out of his waistband and told her to give him the money and threatened to shoot her if she didn’t do it. He left in a gray SUV.

Deputies developed Eiland as a suspect and found him at his home in the 2000 block of Lee County Road 400 and arrested him.

They say Eiland has been connected to an earlier robbery, which happened on August 18 at the Dollar General in the 15000 block of Alabama Highway 51 in Beauregard. They say the robberies were carried out in a similar way, with the robber also leaving in a gray SUV.

Eiland has also been charged with first-degree robbery in that case.

He is being held in the Lee County Detention Center without bail, awaiting an Aniah’s Law hearing.

If you have information about this cases, contact the Lee County Sheriff’s Office at (334) 749-5651 or CrimeStoppers at (334) 215-STOP.