CENTRALIA — An 18-year-old Mt. Vernon man is in the Marion County Jail after a foot chase with Centralia police officers resulted in his arrest for alleged robbery.

According to Lt. Greg Dodson, officers arrested 18-year-old Demari S. Lewis after an encounter with a homeowner delayed the subject enough for officers to arrive and take him into custody.

Dodson says officers responded around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday to a report of a “strong arm robbery” in the 600 block of North Poplar Street.

A juvenile male told officers that two men had robbed him of his cell phone, his pants, and his shoes. The juvenile was able to give officers a possible location of the subjects, which led to an attempted traffic stop of the two individuals.

Both men fled on foot, with Lewis running through yards and knocking a young child to the ground. The child was not injured, but a subsequent encounter with the child’s father delayed Lewis long enough for officers to quickly arrive and take him into custody near Laura Leake Park.

He was transported to the Marion County Jail for alleged robbery. Dodson says police are aware of the identity of the second subject and will be working to locate him.

Lewis was arrested in June after his vehicle became stuck on the railroad tracks during a chase with Mt. Vernon police.

He fled the crash scene on foot and despite attempts to stop an oncoming train, Lewis’ vehicle was struck. No injuries were reported and Lewis was apprehended.

He ultimately pleaded guilty in that case to felony aggravated fleeing police and was sentenced in August to 90 days in jail.