4 armed robberies in Austintown

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Two of the robberies were possibly committed by the same person, police said.

AUSTINTOWN — Four armed robberies took place in the township Sunday evening and early this morning.

Police have a suspect in one of the robberies, pictures from surveillance tapes of two others, and say they believe at least two of the robberies may have been committed by the same person.

Sunday's robberies were at the Certified Oil, 825 N. Niles-Canfield Road, at 8:31 p.m.; and at McQuaids, 702 N. Meridian Road, at 9:05 p.m.

A Certified Oil employee told police that a man wearing black pants, a yellow shirt and yellow baseball hat walked in and said: "See this gun? Give me all the money!" He lifted the front of his shirt to reveal a gun handle. The clerk emptied cash from the register and gave him an undisclosed amount.

The robber told her to lie on the floor and count to 20, which she did.

Then she called police. The manager arrived also and gave police the store's surveillance tape. Police said the robber is black, in his mid-20s, cleanshaven and weighs about 230 pounds.

Chase ensues

At McQuaids, employees told police that a black man dressed in black, about 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 175 pounds, walked up to the counter and told the clerk to put the store's money in a trash bag. He showed her a gun.

As the robbery was in progress, a second employee came from the stock room and walked behind the counter. The man pointed the gun at him, then he ran out of the store. The second employee chased him. He told police that as the suspect ran, he was joined by another man. Both men ran east on Vestal Road and into Youngstown, the employee told police. The employee also told police that before the robbery, he had seen the second suspect outside, talking to a man in a green Ford Explorer. He gave police the license plate number.

A K-9 officer came to the scene, and the dog tracked the suspects to a house on Eddie Street. There, police arrested James T. Blackwell, 31. They also found the car the employee had seen.

Police took the two store employees to the Eddie Street house. The one that chased the suspects identified Blackwell as the man that joined the gunman outside, police reports said.

Blackwell was arraigned today in County Court in Austintown on a charge of complicity to aggravated robbery. He remains jailed in lieu of $100,000 bond, awaiting a preliminary hearing at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday in the court.

Same robber?

At the Fairfield Inn, 801 N. Canfield-Niles Road, at 4:28 this morning, the night clerk reported to police that he was in the hotel office when someone rang the bell at the night window.

A man pointed a gun at him and said, "Give me the money." The clerk put $240 in the tray at the bottom of the window, and the suspect fled.

A short time later at the Get Go, 5163 Mahoning Ave., the fourth robbery occurred. Police said the Get Go and Fairfield Inn robberies were possibly committed by the same person.

At the Get Go, a man walked in and asked the clerk for directions to the restroom. She told police the man walked toward the restroom, then quickly turned and grabbed a pack of breath freshener. He handed her a note that said: "I have a gun. Hand over the money now." She handed the man between $150 and $170 in cash.

Police have a clear picture from Get Go's surveillance tape of a white man with short brown hair and a close-cropped beard and mustache. He was wearing a brown-and-white striped shirt. Police said he fled in a blue 1992-'94 Pontiac 6000, with the driver's side front hubcap missing.

Anyone who has any information about the robberies is asked to call the Austintown Police Tip Line at (330) 270-5108.

Monday, September 18, 2006