Armed robbery, assault suspect arrested

A man accused of a break-in and robbing a couple at gunpoint has been arrested after fingerprints on one victim’s purse matched his.

DaJuan Yaphet Minson, 19, was being sought for burglary and aggravated assault in connection with a Sunday incident on Decker Boulevard. A deputy patrolling the neighborhood heard apparent gunfire from the 1600 block and encountered two people running toward his patrol car saying they had been robbed.

The male and female victims said a man matching Minson’s descripton walked up to them, pointed a gun at them, cocked it and demanded valuables. The victims said Minson pressed his gun to the female victim’s head and took her purse, which contained $120 in cash, a credit card and a cell phone. The pair said they made a break toward a gas station to get help when their attacker fired two shots toward them, which missed.

The deputy recovered the woman’s purse, empty except for her identification, in some bushes. Fingerprints on the purse matched prints on record belonging to Minson, the Richland County Sheriff’s Department said.

Minson also is suspected in a Friday evening break-in on the 2900 block of Chatsworth Road. The resident said the person broke into the house and stole a flat screen television worth $450, an X-Box 360 video console and a Playstation 3 console. In that case, the victim was connected with Minson, who was an acquaintance of his daughter’s the department said.