A Shannon Hills man already had a few crimes on his record when police caught up with him for robbing a Dollar General. Read more below.

A Clark County jury recently sentenced a Shannon Hills man to 20 years in state prison for the armed robbery of a Dollar General in Arkadelphia, according to court documents. Rodney Nowden Jr., 39, pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery and will serve 20 years in the Arkansas Department of Corrections (ADC), with an additional 20 years suspended, and restitution ordered.

On February 11, 2024, Arkadelphia police were called to the Dollar General on Caddo Street around 8:30 p.m. after a masked man entered the store, pointed a matte‑black pistol at the clerk and demanded money. Investigators said the robber took $406.36 in cash and change in a yellow Dollar General bag and fled.

Officers later found Nowden’s gray Ford Fusion parked near a nearby business just two blocks away. The car matched the one in the surveillance footage with Nowden’s car circling the Dollar General before the robbery. Police identified the driver as Nowden. He had a Dollar General bag with loose change, and cash bulging from his pants.

Prosecutors in the case said the investigation also linked Nowden to a February 22, 2024 robbery at a Dollar General in Atkins, Arkansas. Records from the Arkansas Department of Corrections indicate Nowden was previously convicted in Pope County of aggravated robbery and assault in February, receiving a 32‑year sentence.

After sentencing, Nowden was transferred to the ADC.

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