NC police arrest armed Texas suspects wanted in Hillsborough Waffle House robbery

Tammy Grubb, Aaron Sánchez-Guerra

The story was updated at 2 p.m. Thursday, July 14, 2022, with an arrest.

Police have arrested three Texas residents wanted in connection with an armed robbery Monday at the Waffle House in Hillsborough.

Diamond Walton of Longview, Texas, and Tamiko Lashun Jones and Tony Eugene Lemon, both of Marshall, Texas, were caught Wednesday in Shelby, just west of Charlotte, according to the U.S. Marshals Service and the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Office.

All three will face charges in Orange County with robbery with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to commit armed robbery and defrauding an innkeeper, according to a Hillsborough town news release. They are scheduled to make their first appearance in an Orange County courtroom on July 26, records show.

The suspects are facing similar charges in Minden, Louisiana, where they are accused of robbing a business just a few days before they showed up in Hillsborough, police said in the release. The suspects were believed to be armed and dangerous, they said.

Diamond Walton of Longview, Texas, is wanted in connection with a July 11 armed robbery at the Waffle House in Hillsborough. Police provided this photo of her taken from social media.
Diamond Walton of Longview, Texas, is wanted in connection with a July 11 armed robbery at the Waffle House in Hillsborough. Police provided this photo of her taken from social media.

In Hillsborough, the suspects went into the Waffle House at Daniel Boone and South Churton streets around 2 p.m. Monday with three other people, police said. After eating a “brief meal,” Lemon then reportedly used a handgun to demand money from the restaurant employees.

He fled to the Daniel Boone Shell Service Center next door, where he was parked, police said. Police said all three suspects left in two separate cars — a burgundy Ford F-150 truck with Texas plates and a newer model silver Ford Fusion sedan with Texas plates, police said.

Suspects in the July 11, 2022, armed robbery of the Waffle House restaurant in Hillsborough fled in two vehicles, including this burgundy Ford F-150 truck with Texas plates.
Suspects in the July 11, 2022, armed robbery of the Waffle House restaurant in Hillsborough fled in two vehicles, including this burgundy Ford F-150 truck with Texas plates.

The suspects told witnesses they were on their way to Virginia, and both vehicles were seen traveling north on Interstate 85 after the robbery, but they were instead caught roughly 175 miles southwest of Hillsborough.

The investigation is continuing, and police have said more charges could be filed.

Hillsborough police are seeking information about this newer model silver Ford Fusion sedan with Texas plates that was involved in an armed robbery on July 11, 2022.
Hillsborough police are seeking information about this newer model silver Ford Fusion sedan with Texas plates that was involved in an armed robbery on July 11, 2022.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Hillsborough Investigator Van St. Pierre by email or phone at 919-296-9533.

Tips also can be reported anonymously by calling 919-296-9555, using the See it, Say it, Send it app or website, or by direct messaging the Police Department on Facebook.

Tamiko Lashun Jones, at right, and Tony Eugene Lemon, both of Marshall, Texas, have been charged in connection with an armed robbery July 11, 2022, at the Waffle House in Hillsborough. Hillsborough police provided this photo from social media.
Tamiko Lashun Jones, at right, and Tony Eugene Lemon, both of Marshall, Texas, have been charged in connection with an armed robbery July 11, 2022, at the Waffle House in Hillsborough. Hillsborough police provided this photo from social media.

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