By MOLLY DAVIDSON / Staff Writer

HOOVER—A 22-year-old Montevallo man is in the Shelby County Jail for the alleged armed robbery of a Lee Branch restaurant on Dec. 20.

Dunston Kirk Hamilton Jr., who lists an address in the 2000 block of Hidden Forest Lane in Montevallo, is facing a felony charge for allegedly robbing a Moe’s Southwest Grill at 300 Doug Baker Boulevard while “armed with a deadly weapon or dangerous instrument,” according to his arrest warrant.

A ski mask-clad suspect armed with a handgun allegedly entered Moe’s at 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 20, according to the Hoover Police Department. The suspect then allegedly held the restaurant’s manager at gunpoint while he took an undetermined amount of money from the cash drawer and safe.

He allegedly left through the rear of the restaurant and fled the scene in an unknown vehicle, the HPD said.

Hoover crime scene investigators linked Hamilton, a former employee of the Lee Branch Moe’s, to the robbery. Detectives received an arrest warrant for Hamilton’s arrest from the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office on Dec. 22.

“An ex-employee was developed as a possible suspect and crime scene investigators quickly determined that he was responsible for the robbery,” a HPD news release read. “Officers from the Montevallo Police Department and Shelby County (Sheriff’s Office) deputies took the suspect into custody (on Dec. 22) at a residence in Montevallo.”

Hamilton is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $60,000 bond. His initial court appearance was on Dec. 23, and he is scheduled for a preliminary hearing in front of Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves on Jan. 14 at 8:30 a.m.

Hamilton has been charged with first degree robbery, a Class A felony. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison.