Auburn police charged a robbery suspect with three counts of capital murder in connection with the kidnapping and killing of an Auburn University student earlier this week, police said Saturday.

Courtney Lockhart, of Smiths, Ala., was arrested about 30 miles from the Auburn University, where  Lauren Burk, a freshman, was shot and left on the side of an off-campus road Tuesday night. Her vehicle was found burning in a campus parking lot later that night.  

Lockhart, 23, has been charged with capital murder, capital murder during a kidnapping and capital murder during an attempted rape, police said.

According to an Auburn Police Department press release, Lockhart was already a suspect before he was arrested on unrelated charges. "Task force members had developed Lockhart as a suspect and were attempting to establish his identity when Phoenix City Police took him into custody on an unrelated offense," police said.

According to an AP report, Assistant Police Chief Tommy Dawson said that, "His car matched the description of a vehicle in a string of robberies," Dawson said. "When an officer approached the car at the traffic stop, Lockhart drove off." 

After a short chase, Lockhart's vehicle broke down and he was apprehended while trying to flee on foot, Dawson said.  

Due to the ongoing nature of the case, Dawson would not say what led police to charge Lockhart in the student's killing or divulge evidence linking Lockhart to the crime.

Lockhart’s bail is set at $250,000 as he awaits a Lee County Circuit Court hearing Monday in Auburn.