The suspect charged in this month’s Columbia Facebook Marketplace robbery and another robbery is currently jailed without bond.
Boone County prosecutors have charged 20-year-old Lance Graves with two counts of first degree robbery and two counts of armed criminal action. He was arraigned Tuesday in Boone County Circuit Court.
Graves is currently on probation for two felony convictions: tampering and burglary. A motion from Boone County prosecutors says Graves allegedly violated his probation at least five times and was also declared an absconder in 2025. Despite those violations, the courts never revoked Graves’ probation and sent him to prison.
Boone County prosecutors describe Graves in court documents as a flight risk and a danger to the community.
The Facebook Marketplace robbery happened on July 11. The Columbia Police Department’s four-page probable cause statement says the victim was allegedly robbed of $400 in cash, after driving from Sullivan Missouri to Columbia to purchase a pistol. The victim was not injured, according to court documents.
Court documents from the second robbery indicate that victim was forced to strip down to nothing but a t-shirt and underwear. Graves allegedly threatened to kill that victim, according to graphic court documents, which are full of profanity.
Columbia has seen several Facebook Marketplace robberies this year, including the January robbery and murder of U.S. Marine Michael Ryan Burke. Four suspects are charged in his murder.