MIDLAND, Texas (KOSA) -

The following is a press release from the City of Midland:

A 56-year-old man was arrested for aggravated robbery Thursday, Aug. 8 after an armed robbery at a laundromat in southeast Midland.

Midland Police reported that Ivory Lugene Merrite faces first-degree felony charges and was booked into the Midland County Jail after confessing to the robbery at the Wash Em Up Laundromat in the 700 block of East Florida Avenue.

An MPD report stated that at 7:24 a.m. Thursday Midland Police responded to the laundromat in reference to an aggravated robbery.

Upon arrival officers determined that a male – later identified as Merrite -- had entered the business where he then brandished a weapon at a 20-year female attendant and demanded she open the cash register, MPD reported.

“The male then took all the money and fled the store in a white 2024 Mitsubishi,” MPD reported. “Detectives were able to track Merrite’s vehicle to the America’s Best Value Inn located at 3610 Bankhead Highway.”

Around 2:50 p.m., officers arrested Merrite, following a foot pursuit, and detectives located a quantity of cash believed to have been taken in the robbery as well as items of clothing Merrite had worn during the robbery. MPD reported that Merrite subsequently confessed to committing the robbery.