A 22 year old Scottsbluff man employed with the Super 8 motel as the overnight clerk is accused of taking nearly $600 from the business and then telling police he was robbed at gunpoint to cover up the crime. Justin Ball was taken into custody after Police found $570 in a Super 8 Motel envelope in his pickup after he reported the alleged holdup.

The arrest affidavit filed in Scotts Bluff County Court says Ball asked police to respond to the motel shortly before four Saturday morning and told them a man pulled a handgun and demanded money. Ball said he gave the man $180 from the money drawer and $359 from a drop box before the man got into the passenger side of a pickup, and left going east.

Police noticed a yellow Datsun pickup with the driver's door open near the motel as they responded to the call, and when asked about his vehicle Ball told the officers he owned a similar type pickup. Police got consent to search the vehicle and located the money in the passenger side of Ball's pickup.

Ball is being held on $5,000 bond after being charged with felony theft and filing a false report to a police officer.